Little Wonders
by tensionandthrill
Summary: A happy family is but an earlier heaven. Sam, Mercedes, and their children, Cameron and Lilliana, are the happiest. This is a look at their world in a series of moments. A Samcedes family fic  with frequent bursts of Tike .
1. Walking on Eggshells

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. If I did, the entire series would center around Samcedes.**

**A/N:** I got this idea from **amuzed1** on tumblr. She prompted something like this and my brain took it and ran. I hope y'all like it.

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><p>The sound of his ringing cell phone had Sam lunging across his bedroom to the dresser before it could wake up his sleeping wife. He'd just managed to calm her down after her latest crying jag. The absolute <em>last<em> thing he wanted was for his _Guy Love_ ringtone to wake her and send her into another frenzy.

Sam quickly pressed the answer button but didn't say hello yet. Mercedes was stirring slightly on the bed and he held his breath as he watched her rub her very pregnant belly with her hand.

She mumbled something and Sam thought he was doomed. She was going to wake up and start crying about her extremely swollen feet that she couldn't see or how her pregnancy face made her look like a chipmunk—and no matter what Sam said to reassure her, she'd fall apart.

Sam watched his wife's hand settle onto the bed once more and breathed a sigh of relief when she went right on sleeping. _Praise!_

Most days her pregnancy didn't affect her this way, but some days—like today—she was wreck. That morning, he'd had to use soapy water to pry her wedding ring off of her swollen fingers—and that had _set her off._ She had cried about everything since. It was all he could do to keep her _and himself_ sane when she got like this.

Sam almost forgot about the phone pressed against his face, but Mike's voice saying, "Hello? Sam? Are you there?" brought him back.

"Hold on a second," he whispered into the receiver. He looked fondly over his wife one last time before stepping out of the room, walking down the hallway, and heading down the stairs.

"I'm here, man. What's up?" Sam finally spoke normally into the phone.

He was making his way toward the living room but promptly switched paths when Mike said, "Dude, come open the door. Tina kicked me out."

A few seconds later, an alarmed Sam opened the door with his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "What do you mean she _kicked you out_?" Sam asked, so horror-struck by the idea that he was still talking into the phone, even as he stood face-to-face with his best friend.

"It's a _long_ story," Mike said, staring tiredly at Sam. The look on his face said, '_Dude, you don't even want to know_.'

But, Sam _did_ want to know. He wanted to know why—and he also wanted to know, on a scale of 1-10, how upset would Mike say Tina was? Because if she was anywhere near a 10, she'd no doubt call Mercedes and wake her up—and the two of them would have two very emotional pregnant women on their hands.

Yes. They were best friends. They did everything together. Apparently that bromance went as far as getting their wives pregnant at the same time. In theory, it was very cute. In reality—on days like this—it was a _nightmare_. Tina and Mercedes did everything together, too, and that included driving their husbands up the wall.

"What the hell happened? And, keep your voice down. Mercy's sleepin'." Sam hissed at Mike, hoping against hope that Mercedes' cell phone wouldn't ring upstairs. He stepped out of the way to let Mike inside, and then the two headed to the living room to sit down.

"Uhhm, so she asked me to go on another McDonald's run—like, the 3rd one today. All she wants to eat are chicken nuggets—morning, noon, and night!" Mike whispered.

Sam wondered how ridiculous they looked whispering at each other, on an entirely different level of the house, just so they wouldn't wake Mercedes. Whatever. He'd do anything he had to do to keep the peace for another moment.

Sam looked at Mike expectantly, not yet understanding where Tina would have cause to kick him out.

"I don't know, dude. I should have kept my mouth shut, but I got _irritated_," Mike said sullenly.

"What'd you say to her?" Sam asked, bracing himself for the worst.

"I told her if she didn't stop eating those damn nuggets, she was going to give birth to a chicken egg, and we'd have to wait around another nine months for it to hatch," Mike mumbled sheepishly.

And that was all she wrote. Sam was _dead_. He fell back against the couch, pulling one of the pillows over his face to muffle the raucous laughter he was failing to contain.

Mike scowled at his friend, not at all amused. "I'm glad to see you so overjoyed at my distress," Mike said sulkily. Instead of shutting Sam up, it only spurred on another round of laughter.

"Dude, I didn't come over here for this," Mike said, his tone laced with annoyance.

"No. You came here because you called your wife a mother hen and got yourself kicked out. Why would you ever think saying that would be a good idea? What on earth were you thinking?" Sam asked looking at his friend.

He'd quieted down enough to take the pillow off of his face, but he was still chuckling sporadically as he waited for Mike's answer.

"I was thinking it was a joke! I didn't think she'd completely _freak out_." Mike explained, taking his time to draw out the last two words. His face took on a pleading expression that begged Sam to understand him.

And _trust_, Sam understood just perfectly.

"She started saying how I was casting bad luck on the baby, and then she marched right into the kitchen, "Mike continued. "Next thing I know, I'm dodging flying eggs all over the place. It was a train wreck. Then, she started crying because the house was a mess and would never be fit for a baby. When I tried to comfort her, she said it was _my_ fault for being an ass. So, now I'm here," Mike concluded.

Sam tucked in his lips to keep from falling into another laughing fit and nodded. That had been quite the story—but he knew exactly how Mike felt. He'd been through the wringer with Mercedes the entire day.

"Well, if you're looking for an escape, I'm not sure here is where you wanna be, man," Sam said quietly with a sigh after a while. "Mercedes has been completely nuts since she woke up this morning. I'm surprised _I'm_ still allowed in the house," he lamented. "The nursery incident this afternoon was almost a deal breaker. She cried for a whole hour before I finally convinced her a nap might do some good."

Mike sat quietly and looked to Sam expectantly for elaboration. Although this particular visit had been forced by Tina, the boys had a tendency to get together throughout the week to discuss their mutual woes. Supporting their wives through their first pregnancy was scary stuff, and they were happy they had each other to lean on.

"She was crying because we haven't finished painting one of the walls," Sam shared. "I told her she was being ridiculous because—."

Mike cut him off right there. "Sam, you _never_ tell her she's being ridiculous about _anything_. Remember that time I told Tina she was being ridiculous for buying every baby outfit in 4 different sizes?"

They both shuddered at the memory.

_All four of them had gone shopping for the babies. The girls were convinced they all needed the bonding time since they and their babies would all be spending so much time together._

"_Dr. Laurel's book says it's important for everyone who's going to be involved in the babies' lives to be on the same page," Tina said smiling happily as she and Mercedes walked into one of the boys' clothing aisles. Their latest ultrasounds had revealed both families were welcoming baby boys._

_Mercedes turned to smile at Sam and Mike and nodded her head in agreement with Tina's statement. "It's important that the babies have a nurturing and stable environment," she added._

_The two of them had been reading baby books together since Mercedes found out she was pregnant a few weeks after Tina. So had Sam and Mike—but the girls had taken it to another level, practically memorizing the text line for line._

_Sam and Mike nodded their heads at their wives and followed along behind them with the carts. They didn't think they needed any more bonding, but they wouldn't complain if it made their girls happy._

_As soon as they turned into the clothing aisle and saw the baby shoes, though, they couldn't suppress their feelings. They both headed off eagerly toward the shoes. Mike picked up a pair of red and black baby Jordan's and held them out for Sam to see._

_Sam, in turn, held up a pair of blue baby Chuck's and the two grinned at each other, barely containing their excitement. They both turned enthusiastically back to the selection to pick out some more._

_It was then that their wives walked over, each carrying an armful of baby clothes to dump into the carts. Mercedes grinned at Sam, happily watching him pick out a few more pairs of Chuck's. She was completely enamored by his enthusiasm._

_Similarly, Tina flashed Mike a fond smile and told him, "I should have known your first purchase for our kid would be sneakers."_

"_They're so cute," Mike explained, holding up another pair of sneakers to show them._

"_We need to get each one in a few different sizes," Tina said sweetly then. "The baby is bound to grow out of them quickly. That's what we did with the clothes."_

"_That's ridiculous," Mike said without thinking. "We'd just be wasting a lot of money." Sam nodded his agreement._

_Mike and Sam had returned to their shopping, oblivious to the impending storm. Tina, who was prone to cry even when she wasn't hormonal, full on started sobbing in the aisle, saying that she was just trying her best to be a good mother—that she wanted to be prepared._

"_How could you ever think that was a waste?" Tina asked through her tears. Her crying had spurred on Mercedes' and the two boys turned bewildered eyes onto their hysterical wives._

_The pair of women stood in the aisle, their arms wrapped around each other in an awkward hug as they cried—their baby bumps keeping them from getting close enough for a proper hug. Their husbands struggled for the correct response. When Sam attempted to place a comforting hand on Mercedes' back, she shook him off._

_Grabbing their shopping carts, she and Tina took off for another aisle still in tears, leaving their husbands behind feeling like a couple of befuddled jerks._

_Another pregnant woman who'd been in the aisle with them walked past the boys, shooting them a glare on her way, while her husband walked silently behind her smiling sympathetically._

_It'd taken the rest of the day to get the girls to forgive them. Sam had come up with an idea for a double date. They'd apologized, gotten their girls some flowers, and taken them to dinner. Tina and Mercedes had come around after that._

_Mike and Sam made a note to choose their words more wisely from then on._

It seemed, however, both men had struggled to remember that lesson today.

"I _know_, but she was. We're more than a month away from the due date—and, I'm pretty sure the baby is not going to come home from the hospital, look around, and refuse to stay in his room because the wall isn't painted."

"I get it, man. I agree with you, but it's like some hyper-nesting thing. I read about it in one of those pamphlets they have at Lamaze. Like, they just need to organize everything and everything has to be perfect or it's like they can't breathe. It gets worse closer to the due date," Mike said.

"I just can't stand to watch her get so upset. Mercy's a trooper. She never cries about anything, and then suddenly it's like waterworks for _everything_ and it literally kills me every time," Sam said.

"Well, Tina always cries, but this is overdrive. She was reading an article on the internet and it said that Asian babies are commonly born with this inherited blood disease, like 100,000 babies are born with it each year. No joke, she cried for hours. I had to find another article that claimed something different so she would calm down. Then I had to call the doctor to confirm," Mike said.

"Mercedes cries over Lifetime movies. It used to be her thing with Santana. They'd watch one or two every few weeks and just laugh at them. Now all Mercy does is cry so Santana stopped coming over for that. She said Mercedes would get her hormones all over her," Sam said with a roll of his eyes. "So, now _I'm_ the Lifetime movie partner."

Sam lay back, dropping his head onto the back of the couch and Mike copied the action, resting his sneakered-foot against the coffee table.

Sam immediately lifted his socked-foot and kicked it off. "Dude, you're not the only one trying to survive these uncertain times, alright? And now that you've gotten yourself evicted, we gotta play this right or we'll both be out on our asses. I don't need another lecture about maintaining a cleanly environment for the baby."

Mike nodded, setting his feet firmly back on the floor. "You too?" he asked Sam.

Sam nodded solemnly—glad he had his friend around who understood exactly what he was going through.

He and Mercedes had always been in tune as a couple. Everything between them just worked so well. They could talk about anything for hours. She appreciated his humor and he adored her sass. If one of them was upset, the other one knew just what to do. Whatever the bond was between them, it was strong and it simply worked. Sam had always taken great pride in that.

During her pregnancy, however, he felt like they'd lost that a little bit. It made him crazy to think that he didn't know how to help her. When it came to her, feeling like he didn't understand her or that he was at a loss for words wasn't something he liked. He wanted to be her everything and he couldn't help feeling like a disappointment every time she fell apart like this.

He knew that this wasn't a walk in the park on her end, either, and tried to be as sympathetic as he could, but he couldn't deny that, sometimes, he just missed his wife.

"She tells me not to touch her because she's too bloated and nauseated, but if I don't touch her, then she says I think she's gross," Sam said.

Mike nodded in agreement. "If I'm around, I'm smothering her. If I'm not around, I'm having second thoughts and I'm going to leave," Mike added.

"I wish there was some sort of handbook to tell us what to do," Sam said.

"Yup," Mike agreed. "A manual would be good right about now."

At that moment, what Sam had been dreading since Mike's arrival finally occurred. Mercedes' cell phone went off upstairs and Sam was up in a flash.

"Stay here," he hissed at Mike and then quietly made his way toward the bedroom.

"T, slow down. I can't understand you. Take a few deep breaths and try again," Sam heard Mercedes saying as he approached the door.

He peered around the open doorway and Mercedes waved him over, grabbing his hand in a death grip when he got closer to her. The look on her face was intent as she listened to Tina on the other end.

"What do you mean Mike left you?" Mercedes said in the same alarmed tone Sam had used when Mike showed up earlier. She turned wide eyes to Sam whose throat had suddenly gone dry.

"He called your baby a what?" Mercedes asked—her little button nose scrunched up in confusion and Sam had to battle hard to keep from succumbing to another round of laughter.

"T, stop crying. You did tell him to leave so he's probably just waiting it out. I'm sure he didn't go far," Mercedes said. _If only she knew just how close he truly was_, Sam thought.

"I'm gonna get Sam to take me to you. We're gonna figure this all out," Mercedes said. A few seconds later she wrapped up her call with Tina and moved to start the process of getting out of bed, and waddling to the car.

Sam stopped her, holding her in place with his hands on her shoulders.

"Sam, I don't have time. It's already going to take me an hour to toddle my way outside. Tina's in bad shape right now. I have to get there," she said attempting to move his hands. "Did you speak to Mike?"

Sam swallowed. Mercedes was nothing but fiercely protective of her best friend. Mike was a wanted man and he was going to get it. Sam would probably be roped in for harboring a fugitive. Nevertheless, he went with honesty.

"He's downstairs," Sam said.

"In this house?" Mercedes asked incredulously. Sam nodded and braced himself. Mercedes didn't disappoint.

"Why the hell didn't you say anything? She's over there crying," Mercedes said shaking him off.

"Baby, calm down, okay?" Sam said. "It's not good for you to get so worked up."

"Don't tell me to calm down! He walked out on her and he's just sitting around down there while she's bawling her eyes out," Mercedes said finally managing to stand up. She waddled towards the door, and even though it was completely inappropriate in the situation, Sam couldn't help his smile at how adorable he found her in her maternity footie pajamas. The yellow rubber duckies printed on the pink material pretty much sent the cuteness quotient through the roof.

"In all fairness," he said as he followed after her, "she told him to leave."

"Because he was being an ass," Mercedes said angrily. She grabbed onto the banister and descended the stairs slowly—refusing Sam's offered help.

"All she wanted were some chicken nuggets. She's carrying around a child who weighs as much as a bowling ball in her belly because of him. The least he can do is get her some damn chicken nuggets if she wants them," Mercedes said.

Sam could certainly see her point and apparently so could Mike because he appeared before them then.

"I know," Mike said sheepishly coming around the corner. "I tried to apologize, but she started throwing the eggs and she told me to get out. I just came here to let her cool down before I went back to try to talk to her again."

Mercedes stopped short on the stairs to take him in and Sam watched her warily. "Well, she isn't cooling down," Mercedes said tightly. She loved Mike, but if it came to picking sides, she'd always be on Tina's. "She's over there bawling her eyes out. You need to go home and make this right and bring her those damn nuggets. Then, you need to bring her to me for some girl time," Mercedes said.

Even in pink, duckie-covered pajamas, the diva commanded authority.

Mike nodded his understanding, waving at Sam before he headed out. Sam sighed as he continued to follow behind Mercedes. She finally reached the bottom of the stairs and made her way to the living room.

She sat down on in the spot Mike had just recently vacated and Sam sat next to her, watching her intently. He didn't know what he expected her next action to be, but the series of tiny sniffles he heard threw him for a loop. She'd been the picture of collected and in control mere minutes ago.

"Hey, why are you crying?" Sam asked, squatting down in front of her and rubbing her arms in a soothing effort.

"I'm not crying," she said—the tear that streaked down her face a moment later said different. She swiped at it and rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Sam pried. Even if he didn't always know exactly how to deal with her rapidly changing moods, he would always try.

"I yelled at you earlier," Mercedes said and then the dam truly burst. "I didn't mean to. I just got nervous because we're so close to the due date and I just want everything to be ready. I don't want the baby to have an ugly room." She practically wailed the last sentence and looked at him with the widest, apologetic eyes he'd ever seen.

Sam stifled a chuckle at that. "It's okay, baby, really," he said softly. He was unable to resist kissing her plump cheeks, even as her tears marred them. She was honestly the cutest thing he'd ever seen. She'd always have him wrapped around her little fingers.

"No it's not. I'm sorry I'm so ridiculous these days," she said dejectedly, looking down at her hands, and Sam felt a pang of guilt at her choice of words—knowing she was only echoing what he'd told her earlier.

"No, you're not," he said cupping her cheeks with both hands. "I can only imagine all the changes you're going through, baby. So, it's okay. I just wish I knew how to help you more."

She cried harder at this and lurched forward to hug him as she sobbed into his shoulder. Sam frowned. He was trying to make her feel _better_.

"You're being so understanding. It's okay if you're mad, you know?" she said quietly into his shoulder. "I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with right now."

Sam rubbed her back comfortingly. "I'm not mad. We just have to work together through this. It's a scary time for us both, but we'll be alright."

She pulled back and smiled at him—the first genuine one he'd seen all day and his heart fluttered at the sight. Even if she was going through major changes, this was the woman he loved. She was still with him.

"There's my beautiful smile," he said to her and pressed a light kiss onto her smiling lips. He pulled back to kiss her protruding belly, rubbing it with his hands. He felt tiny kicks against his hands and smiled at her in awe. Feeling his unborn son moving around would never fail to amaze him.

"Hi, Cameron," he said, laughing when he felt more kicks against his hand.

Mercedes sat back against the couch while Sam amused them both, having a serious conversation with her belly. He made sure to let Cameron know he certainly wouldn't be coming home to an ugly room and Mercedes rolled her eyes at him.

No matter how many times he griped about the crazy things this pregnancy was putting them through, he knew he'd go through it a million times and more. The moments like this were worth every bit of difficulty.

A little while later, Mike returned with a smiling Tina in tow. He also held two bags of 10-piece chicken nugget meals from McDonald's in hand. The girls settled in the master bedroom with their food, happily chattering away—the drama of the day forgotten. Sam left a box of tissues close at hand as they tuned in to a Lifetime movie, before he and Mike headed downstairs to watch a football game in the living room.

The exhausted pair was asleep by halftime.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Please review! <strong>Each and every one feeds my soul.

There may be a part two to this fic, but for now I'll say it's complete because I don't know when I'll get around to writing that.


	2. I'll Fix It

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I only wish I did so I could tell the stories my way.**

**A/N:** Sorry if you were expecting a part two to the first chapter here. It's still in the works, but I decided to make this story a series of (sometimes connected, oftentimes not) one-shots focused on moments in the lives of Samcedes and the little family I've dreamed up for them. It's all part of the same AU. I hope you enjoy! And leave me reviews because they make my life!

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><p>"Fuck," came Sam's latest muffled gripe from his current position under the kitchen sink. Mercedes nearly choked on the lemonade she'd been sipping as she watched her husband work. She covered her mouth with her hand, giggling silently to herself, behind him at the small breakfast table where she sat.<p>

If he heard her, she was going to get it, and Mercedes could live without his dirty, oily fingers all over her, tickling her breath away. Besides, she was enjoying her current view far too much to disturb it just yet. She let her eyes rake across Sam's snug-fitting jeans and how flawless his ass looked in them. Bringing the glass of lemonade back to her lips, she slowly took another sip and ogled him openly.

Her mind was just about to wander to naughty places when Sam let out a string of muted curses this time. She quietly giggled again before picking up the little business card that was sitting next to her on the table.

"Babe, are you sure you don't want to call the plumber to come in and check this out? You've been down there a _really_ long time," she told him, stifling a laugh when he briefly turned to glare at her.

"Yes, I'm _sure_," he said, getting testy on the last word. Mercedes scrunched up her face mimicking his words and tone silently behind his back.

They'd discovered a leak in the sink when they woke up this morning. Mercedes had immediately reached for the phonebook, intending to call the plumber. But, Sam, ever the family handyman, had insisted he would fix it. So, he had been down there "fixing it" since he'd dropped their 10-year old son, Cameron, off at soccer practice that morning.

After eleven years of marriage, Mercedes wasn't even surprised. Sam was every bit as stubborn today as he'd been every day of the 17 years she'd known him. She figured she'd let this latest bout of testosterone-driven manual labor run its course, like she had every one before it.

Sam was always convinced he was going to fix _everything_. Sometimes he actually succeeded, but then there were the _other_ times…

Like the time his parents had given them a gorgeous crystal chandelier as a house-warming gift 9 years ago. Mercedes had begged Sam to call an electrician to come in and fix it. "_I'll_ fix it," Sam said, and fix it, he had—until, mere _seconds_ after he'd declared the job done, the fixture had come crashing down onto the dining room table.

A one-year old Cameron, who'd been napping blissfully in his mother's arms as she watched Sam work, shot straight up at the noise. He looked around in alarm, and then turned his tear-filled green eyes to his mom, before his face crumpled up. He let out a pitiful cry, his pacifier falling out of his mouth. Sam only looked at them sheepishly as Mercedes shot him an exasperated look and left the room to calm Cameron down.

There was also the time, a few years ago, when the hinge on the screen door came loose. "I'll fix it," Sam said, and he had—for all of 10 minutes.

Mercedes had been walking up the drive-way, with a then 7-year old Cameron, after a trip to the drugstore. As soon as their unsuspecting son swung the door open, it'd come off in his hand entirely. She'd had to rush forward, dropping all of her purchases to the ground in the process, to keep the heavy metal door from crushing her baby. Cameron _still_ eyed the door warily at times.

And Mercedes would never forget the time, a few months ago, when a new wall switch needed to be installed in Cameron's freshly renovated bedroom.

10-year old Cameron had declared himself too old for the baby animal barnyard theme his room had going. He begged his mom and dad for a new look more suited to his interests—soccer. He and Tyler Chang, Mike and Tina's son, were obsessed with the sport and Cameron wanted a room that reflected that.

Sam had been excited at the prospect of another project and poured himself into giving his son the best room he could ever want. He'd soccered out Cameron's entire room, from the bedspread, to the curtains, to the rugs, to the pillows, to the posters—_everything_. When Sam had come home from the furniture store with wall switches shaped like soccer balls, exceedingly excited to install them for Cameron, Mercedes didn't have the heart to deter him.

Later that night, however, as Sam, Mercedes, and Cameron sat in the emergency room, waiting for a doctor to treat Sam's first degree burns, Mercedes wished she had. Over the years of disastrous handyman undertakings, this had shockingly been Sam's first injury.

Cameron, who'd learned to laugh at his dad's adventures in handymanning, had completely freaked out—feeling partially responsible for his father's injury. He'd battled tears the entire ride to the hospital, hanging his head of wild honey-blonde curls in dejection. It was only when Sam scooped the 10-year old up, showing him that his bandaged hand would pull through by wiggling his fingers, that Cameron started to cheer up a bit. Nevertheless, he clung to his father until they were all back home.

Mercedes hadn't scolded Sam then—he felt bad enough—but all three of them had come to a mutual agreement that Sam wasn't allowed near anymore electrical sockets.

They hadn't said anything about the kitchen sink, however, so here Sam was on his latest handyman expedition—while Mercedes stood watch.

_"Hell to the yes!"_ Sam exclaimed, pumping a pipe wrench-laden fist into the air. Two seconds later his head was flying out of the kitchen cabinet, narrowly avoiding a skull-bruising bump.

"Finally!" he said, turning to look at Mercedes with a smug smile. "I told you! Easy as shooting ducks on a pond!" Sam said.

Mercedes raised an eyebrow, "You are aware you've been down there for the last two hours?"

Sam rolled his eyes and mumbled something that sounded like 'smartass' under his breath. Mercedes bit back another laugh. "It's not about the time it takes, but the quality of the job, baby," he informed her, his tone dripping with swagger.

"Oh," Mercedes said, scrunching up her face and nodding her head in mock-approval.

"Although," she drawled out a second later, holding up a hand, "I wouldn't get too cocky just yet, alright, Tim Taylor? We haven't actually _tried_ the sink."

Sam rolled his eyes and strutted out of the room to turn the water back on. A few minutes later, he was back and the two of them stood in front of the sink for the moment of truth. Mercedes stood off to the side a bit, just in case.

Sam wanted Mercedes to do the honors, but she was taking no chances. Rolling his eyes again, he extended his hand and turned on the faucet.

The water flowed normally and Sam shot a self-satisfied expression toward his wife.

"See—"

Before Sam could go any further, the sink made a strange whirring sound, and then all hell broke loose. Water sprayed everywhere, shooting out of the faucet like a geyser. The kitchen had gone from normal to Wild Water Kingdom in 3 seconds flat!

Mercedes screamed but avoided it as she hadn't been standing as close as Sam. Sam, on the other hand, was doused from head to toe as he fumbled forward to turn off the faucet before it flooded the entire kitchen.

He finally managed it, his face red as a beet as he turned to face his wife.

Mercedes' eyes grew wide. She tucked in her lips and bit them hard to keep from laughing. She was rapidly losing that battle at the sight of him standing there, looking like he'd decided to go for a swim fully clothed. It was just too much for her.

She brought her hand up to cover her mouth as her shoulders started shaking. She never took her eyes from his.

"Don't say a word," Sam said in a low tone and Mercedes lost it. She threw her head back and let out a loud laugh that came from deep inside of her. She could barely breathe and let the tears that formed in her eyes make their way down her cheeks.

Sam advanced toward her warningly and Mercedes backed away from him knowing what would come next. She inched backwards until she hit the doorway that led to the living room and took off.

Her short legs were no match for his, and soon, he scooped her up in his arms, dropped her onto the couch and hovered above her. His fingers tickled the life out of her and Mercedes squealed trying to get away from his hands.

"Say you're sorry," Sam said staring down at his wife in amusement. He'd never get tired of playing this game with her. 17 years together and they still goofed around together like a couple of kids.

"Sorry for what?" Mercedes asked breathlessly, squirming around to escape his wiggling fingers. "You should say you're sorry for flooding the kitchen. You're mopping that up by the way. Then you're gonna call the plumber."

She squealed again when he tickled her harder, moving one hand from her side to her neck, where she was even more sensitive.

"Stop, Sam! I can't breathe," she exclaimed after a moment, swatting at his hands and kicking out at him.

He finally had pity on her, or she thought he did, but then he was lowering his body, clad in his wet clothes, onto hers and she was powerless to push him off.

"You're ruining my dress!" she exclaimed.

"That's what you get for laughing at me," Sam said, but he was already forgetting what his motives were.

All thoughts of revenge had a way of going out the window when you found yourself on top of your sexy wife…on a lazy Saturday afternoon…when your son was out of the house…

Mercedes had been trying to push him off, but her grip changed when he kissed her deeply a moment later. Her hands slid from his chest to his wet hair and she didn't even think twice about opening her mouth to him when his tongue swiped across her bottom lip.

The kiss turned from lazy to passionate in an instant and neither of them heard when the front door opened, or when it shut, or when the two sets of feet padded softly into the room.

They did hear when Cameron and Tyler let out excessive gagging noises, however. They both turned unapologetic eyes to their son and godson.

"How was practice?" Mercedes asked the boys, smiling brightly.

"No, mom," Cameron covered his eyes with his hands. "Can we talk at dinner? I can't talk to you guys when you're…like that," he said gesturing toward her and Sam.

"Really y'all?" Cameron said, exasperated. "This is why you have a room." The boys stood there, their expressions clearly showcasing their repulsion at the scene before them.

"Actually, Cam," Sam said, making no moves to get off his wife, "this is why _you_ have a room. Our house. We'll kiss where we please."

Cameron rolled his green eyes, pursing his plump lips as he and Tyler made a hasty exit from the room, grumbling the whole way.

"I was gonna ask, but I don't think I wanna know why he's all wet," Mercedes and Sam heard Cameron say.

"Honestly, though," Tyler said a second later. "We can't get away from this. What is wrong with our parents?"

"I know," Cameron said. "I'm never going to be all gross with a girl like that."

"Yeah," came Tyler's agreement.

Sam chuckled as he looked down at Mercedes. She shook her head and giggled at him.

"They say that now," Sam said. "I give them like 2 more years—three tops."

Mercedes' giggling stopped abruptly. "Until what?"

"Until they start noticing girls," Sam clarified.

"Who? My babies? No. Never," Mercedes said shaking her head fervently. "Any girl even shows up here, I'm coming at them with a baseball bat for even trying."

Sam raised his eyebrow at his wife's ire.

"I was around all those McKinley girls. I know what's up. They need to just stay away from my babies," Mercedes said resolutely, already making plans to sit with Tina when she and Mike came to pick up Tyler later, and discuss how they were going to keep their babies small forever.

"Babe, they're gonna grow up sometime," Sam challenged softly.

"Oh, so you're cool with Stacey's boyfriend, then?" Mercedes asked, raising her eyebrows at him in question.

Sam's eyes darkened considerably at the thought of his sister's boyfriend. He'd never be cool with that. He was still trying to come up with ways to make that boy vanish.

"See? So, then we agree? He's never allowed to date?" Mercedes asked, not an ounce of humor lacing her tone.

Sam shrugged in tacit agreement. For today, Cameron was still repulsed by girls. They'd revisit the subject at a later date. Right now, he had other things on his mind.

He smiled at his wife, about to go in for another kiss, when she said, "Babe, you really have to call the plumber." She poked out her bottom lip and nodded when he just looked at her.

After a few seconds, Sam's smile brightened. "I'll fix it," he whispered against her lips, then silenced her protests with a kiss.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Let me know! Leave me a review! They really make my life!<strong>

Thanks so much for all the alerts, reviews, and kind words for the previous chapter.

Also, if you want to prompt anything, I'd be glad to hear ideas.

Last, but in no way the least, BIG THANKS to my twinnie, **keeponsmilingg**, who always encourages and inspires me! Love you!


	3. Boys' Weekend

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, but Cameron and Tyler are all mine and Glee can't have them...unless they ask nicely.

**A/N:** Daddy!Sam and Daddy!Mike and babies, oh my! I hope y'all like it!

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><p>Sam knew two things. One, Mercedes would absolutely <em>kill<em> him if she could see what he was doing right now. Two, what happened during boys' weekend, stayed in boys' weekend. It was a rule—or something like that.

Mike was the only other person in the house who could tell her anyway, and his best friend would never rat him out—especially considering he was complicit in this offense. Tina would kill _him_, too.

But, Mercedes and Tina were away for a much deserved girls' weekend, and wouldn't be back until that evening. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

"Babies, start your engines!" Mike yelled from his spot next to Sam on the couch, flailing his arms around in the air. The action caused the pair of two-year old boys standing across the living room from them to giggle.

Sam chuckled as he watched his t-shirt and diaper clad son rev up his arms and legs in place, just like he'd taught him earlier. Cameron looked up proudly after completing the motion and asked, "Daddy, I go?" His eyes were wide with eagerness and he pointed one tiny finger out ahead of him.

"Not yet, buddy. You gotta wait for Uncle Mike to say it," Sam answered with a smile.

"Okay," Cameron said, nodding his head enthusiastically. His untamed, honey-blond curls moved about his head at the motion. He shifted his alert eyes to Mike and waited.

"Get ready, get set, go!" Mike yelled—and the babies were off, hurtling their little bodies toward their fathers as fast as their little legs could carry them, which wasn't very fast at all.

It had rained the entire day before, so Sam had moved the coffee table out of the living room, and he and Mike turned the space into the perfect activity center for their cooped up kids.

It'd functioned as a dance floor—where Sam had tried to teach Cameron the famous Evans body roll and Mike focused on trying to get Tyler to pop-and-lock. The toddlers had been entirely uninterested in this and danced to the beat of their own drums. Spinning around in slow circles and sporadic knee-bending had been their preferred dance moves that day.

The first ever 'Evans-Chang Diaper Off' had made its debut in this space, with Sam and Mike racing each other to see how quickly they could get the boys changed. Mike ended up winning by a few seconds, but Sam still contended he'd only won because he skipped the baby powder.

It had also doubled as a gymnasium where Sam and Mike let the kids roll around and tumble to their hearts' content on the plush carpet. Any rolling around and tumbling they did _themselves_ was simply to encourage the kids.

Currently the space was a race course, and the babies had been running up and down the room for the past fifteen minutes while their fathers egged them on from the couch.

It was _awesome_—at least Sam and Mike thought so. They knew their wives wouldn't be as thrilled—what with them using their children as competitors and all. But, again, Mike and Sam wouldn't tell—and Tyler and Cameron didn't know enough words to explain the activities they'd been engaged in all weekend. The secret was safe.

Cameron and Tyler giggled madly, closing the space between them and their dads in a quick succession of wobbly steps. Sam and Mike cheered them along all the way, scooping them up for celebratory hugs and kisses when they finally made it to the finish line.

Mike declared it a tie, but Sam was inclined to believe Cameron had won by a few seconds at least—though he kept this quiet. Mike would have demanded a rematch, and the way Cameron laid his head lazily on Sam's shoulder, told Sam the toddler was all tuckered out.

It would soon be time for a nap or Cranky Cam would make an appearance—and that was something to avoid at all costs. Cameron's sleep was _not_ to be messed with. If he wasn't rested, he wasn't happy—and if he wasn't happy, he'd sure as hell make it known. He was his mother's child through and through.

With that in mind, Sam and Mike prepared the boys for lunch. Tyler's footed onsie stayed on, but Mike made sure to tame the boy's hair, which was currently sticking up at every angle. Cameron's hair could never be tamed, but a pair of jeans, socks, and baby Chuck's was added to his attire. Sam melted a little at the sight of his son wearing an outfit to match his.

Soon, the boys loaded the babies into their baby slings, already having decided on a picnic lunch at the local park. It was a warm and sunny day out, and after having spent the previous day locked inside because of the rain, Sam and Mike thought the boys could use some fresh air.

They walked down to the park side by side with the babies pointing and calling out everything they passed and knew the words for.

An Evans through and through, Cameron was friendly, and loudly said hello to everyone they came across on the way. Tyler followed suit, and Sam and Mike could only shake their heads and chuckle in amusement at all the attention the boys were getting.

Tyler and Cameron ate all of it up, offering each perfect stranger a toothy grin and a wave of their little hands.

The chuckles soon turned to full on barks of laughter, however, when one woman stopped and complimented them on their cute little family. "My brother and _his_ husband just adopted a little girl," she told them, smiling brightly. "They're adorable," she sighed at Cameron and Tyler, then wished them a good day and was off.

Sam and Mike looked to each other for a minute, and then just burst into fits laughter. This spurred on the babies, making them laugh too, although they had no idea what was so funny.

"Well, I guess our wedding rings gave it away," Sam said laughing.

"Yeah, and you coming out here with Mercedes' purple-flowered sling probably didn't help," Mike said.

"Whatever. It makes Cam comfortable," Sam defended. As if to emphasize his father's point, Cameron laid his head back on his dad's chest and looked up at him. Sam laid a kiss on the boy's forehead then smiled when he felt Cameron's little hands on the sides of his face.

"You hungry?" he whispered and Cameron nodded slowly.

The boys enjoyed their picnic lunch, sitting on the grass in the warm sun, thinking it was the absolute perfect way to wrap up boys' weekend. Mike and Sam talked while they watched over their boys, making sure they didn't make too much of a mess with the food. Cameron was notorious for his ability to get food in the strangest places—his diaper and hair being his favorites.

After finishing his meal, and running a bit in the grass with Tyler, Cameron wandered over to his dad, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Sam knew the telltale sign. Naptime was upon them. Sam and Mike quickly packed up and made their way back to the house. Mike and Tyler said their goodbyes shortly after, heading back home to prepare for Tina's return.

Cameron already knew his naptime was coming by the time he and Sam made it upstairs to his room. He rubbed his eyes sleepily as he waited for Sam to let him out of the baby sling. Sam pulled off the toddler's sneakers and jeans before setting him down in his little bed.

Immediately, Cameron crawled to his favorite spot on the bed, grabbing his stuffed toy guitar, before he turned on his back. He was sleepy and he blinked lazily, but held the toy in his hands and looked at his father expectantly.

Sam knew what he was waiting for, but decided to play dumb and tease him. He chuckled when Cameron pouted a bit before saying, "Sing song."

Sam exaggerated a reaction, as if he suddenly remembered this was their routine. Cameron never went to sleep without a song. Sam and Mercedes would usually alternate, or sometimes they'd get really corny and sing him duets. It was Sam's favorite part of the day.

When Cameron was smaller, Sam had adored the times he got to feed him or put him to sleep. Cameron would lie cradled in his arms and simply look at him. No words ever needed to be said. He simply felt connected to his son in an intimate bond he'd never share with anyone else. As Cameron got older and more independent every day—though Sam was exceedingly awestruck and proud of every little thing his son did—he missed that intimacy.

The moments they shared during Cameron's bedtime songs brought that feeling back, and so Sam cherished every single time he got to do it—knowing a day would come all too soon when his baby boy would declare himself too old for it.

He grabbed his guitar, sitting on a chair next to Cameron's bed. As soon as he did, Cameron smiled and fixed his hands around the stuffed guitar he held, preparing to mimic his father's actions as he sang.

Sam sang through _Anything Like Me_ by Brad Paisley, taking great effort not to choke up at the thought of singing this to Mercedes' belly before Cameron was born. Cameron would not take kindly to his song being interrupted for a bout of emotional tears—even if the tears were caused by an overwhelming love for him.

Sam powered through, and slowly Cameron's eyelids began to droop. His grip on his stuffed guitar slackened, and he was a goner before the last note. Sam gently put the guitar down, ran his hands gently through the toddler's messy curls, and kissed his forehead affectionately. "I love you, Cammy," he whispered, watching his son's soft inhales and exhales as he slept.

After tucking Cameron in with a blanket, Sam headed downstairs to clean up around the house before Mercedes' return in a couple of hours.

As much as he'd adored boys' weekend, he couldn't wait to see his girl again. The house—their bed, in particular—had definitely not been the same without her. She'd be hard-pressed to shake him or Cameron off for the next week when she got back.

An hour and a half later—a time that seemed like an eternity to Sam as he waited—Sam headed upstairs to wake Cameron from his nap. He made a note to remember to put the coffee table back after he'd given Cameron a snack. Mercedes was due back in within the hour and the errant coffee table would definitely raise an eyebrow.

Cameron was already stirring when Sam walked in and turned on the light in the room. This was good, because a Cameron that woke up on his own was a happy Cameron.

"How was your nap, Cammy? Did you sleep well?" Sam asked as the toddler sat up in his bed. Cameron started to nod his head, but the action was interrupted by an enormous yawn.

"You're gonna catch a fly with your mouth open that wide," Sam told him and laughed when the toddler's eyes widened comically mid-yawn. Cameron threw both hands up to cover his mouth.

"Shoo fly," Cameron said after a moment, swatting at an imaginary fly with his hand. They'd read him the book and sang him the song many times. Cameron apparently thought it was an effective way to get rid of the pests.

He didn't protest as Sam picked him up, simply rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, before laying his head on Sam's shoulder. He quietly went along for the ride downstairs.

Sam set him on his feet on kitchen floor, telling him he'd be right back, as he went to grab the snacks in the pantry. A juicebox and Graduates Puffs would do just fine. The strawberry-apple puffs were Cameron's favorite. Sam thought the way he stuffed them in his mouth, one tiny handful at a time, was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen.

Grabbing the snacks, Sam stepped back out into the kitchen and his heart skipped a beat. The space where he'd left Cameron was now empty. In fact the entire kitchen was empty. He quickly dropped the snacks onto the table and looked underneath to make sure the toddler hadn't crawled under there to play. He hadn't.

Sam walked into the dining room next, and then the living room, the bathroom, and then the foyer—his throat getting drier with every empty room he left.

Although he knew it was impossible for Cameron to get past the baby gates, close them perfectly, and crawl his way upstairs, Sam ran upstairs and checked anyway.

He was crazed when he ran back downstairs, still without a sign of his son. He double checked every room in the downstairs area of the house, calling Cameron's name every which way he went. The boy never answered.

He checked the front and back doors, but both were still locked. Though Cameron was learning new mischief every day, unlocking a door and then locking it from the outside with a key was a bit much for a just barely two-year old to manage.

Sam stood in the kitchen in a panic. The entire weekend had gone so well. He'd stood there as Mercedes anxiously second-guessed going on the trip—she hadn't been away from Cameron that long since he was born—and promised her everything would be just fine. She would walk through those doors in the next twenty minutes, expecting to see her baby and he'd _lost_ the baby.

With shaky hands, he picked up the landline and called Mike.

"I lost him," Sam said with a trembling voice the second Mike picked up the phone.

"What? You lost who?" Mike asked with a nervous laugh. He wanted to think Sam was playing some kind of trick, but Sam sounded really off.

"Cam! I lost Cam!" Sam said.

"What do you mean you lost him? Did you go back out?" Mike asked, already starting to lose his shit along with his friend.

"Lost who?" Sam heard Tina says and his heart dropped.

"Is that Tina?" he asked. _Shit!_ If Tina was back, Mercedes would be back _any fucking minute_ and he had **lost** the fucking baby! The first time he'd been allowed to assert all his responsibilities as a dad and he'd lost his child. How the hell was he supposed to tell Mercedes that? What the fuck was he supposed to—

Suddenly, a shifting sound under the sink caught his attention. Sam cut off whatever Mike was about to say on the phone, telling him to hang on. In a flash he was over to the kitchen cabinets, opening the one under the sink.

A pair of amused green eyes and a blinding smile on his son's face greeted him. He sat inside of one of the oversized pans Mercedes kept in the cabinet. "Hide and seek," Cameron said with a giggle, completely unaware of the years he'd just shaved off his father's life.

Sam reigned in his heightened emotions, explaining what happened to Mike, before returning his attention to his son. He mustered up the most unaffected tone he could, telling Cameron he'd done a really good job hiding, but should probably stay out of the kitchen cabinets from now on.

Sam safely placed the toddler in his high chair and went on about giving him his snack. Cameron happily stuffed tiny handfuls of his snack into his mouth, offering his dad some as well.

Seconds later, Mercedes was walking through the door, excitedly calling out their names. She practically ran into the kitchen when Sam answered her, kissing him quickly but firmly, before turning her attention to Cameron, who abandoned his food his favor of holding out his arms to his mother.

"Hi, Cammy!" she said taking the excited toddler into her arms. She hugged him tightly with tears in her eyes as Cameron went on babbling—the word 'momma' thrown in intermittently.

She turned back to Sam, still holding their son, and reached up to him for another kiss.

"I missed you guys," she said, giving him a hug when they finally pulled away. "How was the weekend? Did y'all have fun?"

Sam's eyes widened as he thought back to just a few minutes ago. Mercedes missed the look as she'd already turned back to Cameron.

"Huh, baby boy? Did you have fun with Daddy this weekend?" Mercedes asked in her baby voice, her face scrunched up in a smile.

"Yeah," Cameron said with a big grin, and Sam let that suffice. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Mercedes walked into the living room and stopped short, turning a questioning gaze on Sam who was walking along behind her.

"Where's the coffee table?" she asked.

"Oh!" Sam said a little too loudly as he remembered it. In the drama of the last twenty minutes he'd completely forgotten to return it to its place. "Uh, I was gonna vacuum. Lost track of time."

_And the baby_, Sam added silently.

Thus, he found himself vacuuming when he'd had no such intention, but what happened during boys' weekend, stayed in boys' weekend. It was a rule.

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><p><strong>Review! Please? It makes my day to read them!<strong>

Suggest some prompts if there's anything you'd like to see!**  
><strong>


	4. What Doesn't Kill You

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Glee. I think that's clear...since I'm sitting here writing fanfiction and all...

**A/N:** Small family moments intrigue me. Mercedes and Sam as parents intrigue me. I realize it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I hope y'all will like it anyway. Let me know what you think. **Review!**

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><p>"Mercedes, you have to calm down," Tina said pulling her currently inconsolable friend closer to her in a side-hug. She kissed her cheek as Mercedes brought a hand to her face to try and curb her tears.<p>

"I can't," she said with a shaky voice. "I need to see him."

"Mercy, Cam's going to be fine," Tina said reassuringly. "Sam was with him in the ambulance. We just have to wait for them to do the CT scan and set his cast, and then we can see him."

Mercedes said nothing else, huffing miserably as she leaned her face against Tina's shoulder. This day had gone from wonderful to terrifying so quickly, she felt as if she'd never get her emotions in check.

It didn't help that she was currently five months pregnant, and her hormones were already all out of whack—driving her _and everyone else_ insane. She felt Tina squeeze her hand.

Her eyes looked out over the busy waiting room, falling upon her Mike and Tyler. They looked as dejected as she felt, waiting for the moment Cameron would emerge through the doors, and they could all finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Mercedes knew even before Cameron was born that a moment like this could happen and she'd been dreading it with every _day_ he grew older—praying that it never would. But, knowing what _could_ happen, had in no way, shape, or form prepared her for the heart-wrenching reality of the moment when it actually did.

She shuddered as she relived the memory.

_Mercedes, Sam, Tina, and Mike had been heartily enjoying an afternoon of little league soccer. Cameron and Tyler's team was playing in the semi-finals of the state championships after breezing through the group stages. _

_The boys were a bit of a known duo, their friendship off the field translating brilliantly on the field. The boys worked well together offensively, and had been huge roleplayers in their team's unbeaten streak to this point._

_The Evans and the Changs were probably the loudest people in attendance that afternoon, but they didn't care as they loudly cheered on the boys—Mercedes and Tina getting especially loud when Cameron scored a goal off an assist from Tyler just before halftime to give the team an edge._

_People stared but no one dared mess with the crazy pregnant lady and her friend. Sam and Mike laughed, but they had no room to judge as they boisterously applauded every little thing the boys did._

_"You run that field, Tyler!", "Great pass, Cam!", and "That's my baby!" were just some of the many enthusiastic phrasings heard that afternoon._

_Everything had been __**wonderful**__... until ten minutes before the game ended. Tyler made a brilliant pass to Cameron from the left wing, and Cameron, already expecting the ball from his best friend in that precise spot, had long since outrun his defender to get in a great position to beat the goalie and score._

_It should have been __**perfect**__, and his parents and godparents stood in anticipation, all ready to scream their heads off._

_But, his outmaneuvered defender had other ideas. He raced to catch up with Cameron, and slid his legs into Cameron's path in an unbelievably late attempt to get the ball._

_The tackle was the worst, and at the pace Cameron had been going, he stood no chance to keeping his balance when the defender's legs made contact with his._

_He literally went flying, his body hurtling helplessly through the air, before he made brutal contact with the ground. Once he was down, he stayed down, with no signs of movement to reassure the aghast crowd of his well-being._

_Pregnant belly or not, Mercedes was up in a flash making her way to her motionless 11-year old, even as the EMTs rushed onto the field. Sam, Tina, and Mike followed close behind._

_A stricken Tyler was the first to make it, however, hovering above his best friend—his brother—fearfully. "Cam," he said shakily. "Are you okay?" He was afraid to touch him and looked around, bewildered, when Cameron remained silent and still—two things Cameron __**never**__ was._

_He was a fascinating mixture of both of his parents—always in motion, always animated, always expressive. If he wasn't talking, he was singing, or dancing, or goofing off, or laughing loudly, but never just silent and still—not even in sleep, where he still talked and moved around like he was in a fight. _

_For that reason alone he'd been kicked out of his parents' bed at the ripe age of two. Before then, Sam and Mercedes couldn't count the number of times they'd woken up to find themselves rudely pushed out of the way while Cameron fought imaginary battles in the middle of their bed._

_Mercedes often wondered if he was getting enough rest, but Cameron would always wake up generally chipper and ready to tackle his day with a smile. This made his current state all the more jarring._

_The EMTs had arrived and Tyler sat back, watching them slowly turn Cameron over, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw Cameron's chest moving up and down with every breath he took. Cameron's eyes still remained closed, however, and the usual caramel skin of his left wrist was marred with a rapidly growing bruise. Tyler eyed the bruise and Cameron's swollen fingers, wincing._

_Mercedes, Sam, Tina, and Mike arrived then—Mercedes already way passed the point of calm as she looked at Cameron. Sam had to physically restrain her from pushing passed the EMTs to get to their son._

_Tina held on to a now-crying Tyler, also failing to keep her emotions at bay. Between the two of them, Mike had his work cut out for him, trying to keep them from interrupting the diligent work of the EMTs._

_It was an enormous relief a few seconds later when Cameron finally opened his green eyes. His family breathed a collective sigh of relief as some of the EMTs moved out of the way to let him breathe, and they could finally get a good look at him. His green eyes were dazed, and his face cringed in pain, as he brought up his right hand to cradle his damaged left wrist._

_He searched the faces above him for someone familiar and his family had finally had enough of the waiting. Tyler pushed through and crouched over his friend once again. The rest of them followed suit, making sure not to crowd him too much._

"_Are you okay?" Tyler asked again. He didn't care that he was crying. His mom had always told him it was a perfectly valid outlet of emotion._

"_Did I score?" was Cameron's slurred response, and all of them briefly forgot their distress as they laughed._

_After a few more questions, Cameron was stretchered off the field to spirited applause from his teammates and the crowd. They carried him passed his waiting family and Cameron frowned at his mother's tears, reaching a hand out to her. The action seemed to make her cry harder and Cameron offered her a crooked smile in reassurance._

_The team's coach didn't even question Tyler as he followed his friend and their families right off the field. Cameron and Tyler tended to be a package deal. If one was going somewhere, the other was surely not far behind._

_Sam had been the one to ride with Cameron, leaving Mercedes in Tina's very capable hands._

The sight of Cameron being wheeled into the waiting room by Sam brought Mercedes right out of her thoughts and across the room to attack her son with questions and kisses—all the while babbling about him being her baby. Cameron smiled, knowing he couldn't restrain her.

His cast spanned from his fractured wrist to his elbow. Sam explained that he'd have to wear it for three weeks before he had to come back to the hospital and get it looked at again. Cameron was also sporting a slight concussion so he'd have to take it real easy for the next few days.

Mercedes' fussing over her son lasted clear through the ride home and well into the evening. Sam and Cameron supposed it'd last clear through the rest of his injury. She tended to worry anyway, but with the baby, she was more than a little high strung.

Because of this, Cameron should have probably guessed that asking her to keep practicing and playing with the team would send her into a frenzied panic. It certainly did as they sat at the dinner table that evening.

Cameron reeled at her loud, "Hell to the no! Are you insane?"

"_Mom_, the doctor said I could wear a protective cast and still play," he pleaded.

"He also said you fractured your wrist and it's going to take at least three weeks to tell if it's healing correctly, then another three of recovery. It's a no," she said sternly. "You must be out of your mind if you think I'm about to let you run around out there with your arm already in a cast."

"But, mom, it's the championships. I worked so hard all year," Cameron started.

"I understand that, Cam and I'm so sorry because I know how much it hurts, but I can't let you do this, baby," Mercedes replied, shaking her head. It was clear she was upset as she tried to return to her meal.

Cameron looked to his dad to speak on his behalf but, Sam could only shake his head. He stayed quiet. Although he felt for Cameron, he was inclined to believe Mercedes was right.

"Mom, Didier Drogba did it in the World Cup!" Cameron threw out.

"Who?" Mercedes said, scrunching up her face.

"He plays my position for Ivory Coast and Chelsea," Cameron said, in a tone that suggested this was information she should know.

"He's also a grown man who is done growing. You are my 11-year old, still developing son," she told him.

He opened his mouth to protest and Mercedes cut him off. "No, Cameron, and you can stop asking because that's the final answer. It's not going to change," Mercedes said resolutely.

Cameron rolled his eyes, groaning in frustration, before he threw his fork onto the table. His entire year of practices and games had gone down the drain. He'd given his all and wouldn't even get to participate in the end result. There was nothing else to explain it. He was just disappointed and angry.

"It's not fair," he said to her, the tears already brimming in his eyes. "You're ruining everything in my life right now!" Cameron regretted the words the second they were out of his mouth, but he couldn't hold them back.

Mercedes looked stricken at the anger in his eyes and he hated putting that look on her face—he hated adding to the stress she was already feeling. He avoided the disappointed look he knew was waiting in Sam's eyes.

The words weren't the most terrible things he could say, but to a pregnant, emotional mother, they brought on the tears.

"Do you understand that my heart just stopped when I saw you lying there like that?" she asked him, starting to choke up. "It's my job to keep to you safe and I couldn't. You have a concussion Cameron and your arm is broken. Hate me if you want, but I'm not letting you put yourself in harm's way—championship or not."

"Mom, I didn't say—," he started to apologize, but it was already too late. Mercedes was taking her plate and walking away from the table.

He and Sam both recoiled when she threw the plate into the sink and loudly started to wash all of the dishes.

Sam decided to deal with Cameron, giving her some time to cool down in the kitchen.

"Well, that tone was never going to work, was it?" Sam asked disappointedly. "Since when do you go around throwing cutlery and yelling at your mom? I know you went through a lot today, but I also know I taught you a lot better than how you just acted. It's alright to be upset. But, you _never_ disrespect your mother that way."

"I-I didn't mean it," Cameron stammered, pleading with his father to understand. "I just really want to play."

"I know," Sam said with a sigh. "But, you did say it, and you were very rude about it. You have to admit she's right, Cam. We don't want you to miss out on anything, but we also have a responsibility to look out for your well-being. Letting you play while you're already injured is a lot to ask. Your mom's only worried about you, and with the baby on the way, she's even more protective."

Cameron stared down at his plate of food gloomily. This day should have been amazing and it was getting worse by the second. He heard his mom noisily slam a cabinet and it finally broke his control. His green eyes filled with tears and he found himself sobbing into his dad's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said tearfully.

"I believe it, Cam," Sam said, "but it's your mom that needs an apology right now."

Cam nodded, but didn't let go of his dad, still crying it out onto his shoulder. Sam hugged him tightly and rubbed his back. "I know how much this meant to you. I'm sorry, too, Cam," Sam said honestly.

Normally Cameron's actions would have resulted in some sort of penalty, but he didn't have the heart to stack on any more shit to the pile his kid was already in today.

Cameron was lucky Mercedes was pregnant and her emotions usually came out in tears these days, because, under normal circumstances, she'd have had his hide—cast or no. Momma didn't play that.

Instead of going after Mercedes himself, Sam let Cameron go when he'd finally vented all of his tears. Cameron trudged quietly into the kitchen, sidling up to his mother.

Mercedes jumped when she felt him throw his arms around her belly, resting his head against her back. "You startled me," she said. Cameron could feel her tense and he hated it.

"I'm sorry, momma," he said sweetly. "I didn't mean what I said. You're not ruining anything. I was just angry because—."

Mercedes sighed, cutting him off. Placing a hand over the ones on her belly, she said, "I know, okay? And I understand what it's like to work as hard as you can only to watch all your effort go to waste, but you need to understand me, too."

She rubbed her hand gently over his cast as she continued, "It's too much of a risk. I can't let you do something that might permanently damage your arm. We're going to follow the doctor's orders and make sure your wrist is healing properly. When you go in for your check up in a few weeks, we can talk about _maybe_ letting you practice again."

Cameron nodded against her back. That seemed fair. He squeezed her with his one good arm.

"And Cameron," she started and he waited quietly to hear what she'd say. "If you ever fix your mouth to yell at me again, cast or no cast…"

She didn't even have to finish her sentence. He already knew. Cameron's eyes widened and he nodded, not daring to speak a word. He'd already said and done enough for one night.

Later, Cameron let his dad draw comic strips all over his cast, while Tyler filled him in on little league gossip over the phone. It seemed his teammates had been singing his praises all afternoon.

This cheered Cameron up a bit and the look of gloom he'd been sporting all afternoon finally seemed to clear. He talked excitedly with his friend, already making plans for a movie marathon the next day when their families would get together for Sunday dinner.

"So, how long are you planning to ruin everything in his life?" Sam teased Mercedes quietly. Cameron was too absorbed with Tyler to listen in.

She shot him a look that clearly told him to him not to go there. "You just shush, okay?" she told him.

"You can't keep him in a bubble forever," Sam counseled.

"I'm not trying to keep him in a bubble. I'm trying to keep his limbs attached," Mercedes said dryly.

"So, he almost loses a wrist this one time. It was only almost," Sam joked, laughing when she glared at him.

"You're really not as amusing as you seem to think you are," Mercedes told him. Fluffing up a pillow, she placed it on his lap, and then laid her head on it as she idly watched the television.

Sam continued coloring Cameron's cast above her. "Joke aside," he said. "I know this was a tough day for you, too—more like a nightmare. It was for all of us, but we're all still here together. We'll be alright."

Mercedes hummed softly against the pillow, squeezing his knee with her hand.

The day had slipped back into ordinary, and after the roller coaster they'd experienced, everyone was grateful—even Cameron.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Wanna make my day? Leave me a review! I love them!<strong>

And yes, Mercedes gets pregnant again when Cameron is 11. Is it a girl? Is it a boy? :)


	5. How You Like Them Apples?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

**A/N:** This is just something cute I decided to write. A lot of Cameron is based on my nephew, Nicholas, so...I had to include him somehow and this story is Nicholas through and through. Plus, I teach second graders everyday, so this is also an ode to them. Haha. I hope y'all enjoy it! Let me know if you do! **REVIEW!**

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><p>"Cameron Nicholas Evans!" Mercedes exclaimed as she walked into the kitchen and stopped short. "Just what do you think you're doing?" Her expression and tone suggested she meant business, but she bit back an amused laugh at the comically alarmed look on her seven-year old son's face.<p>

He quickly pulled his hand out of the cookie jar from which he'd been pilfering, hiding something behind his back, before he stood facing her. His alarmed expression transitioned into shamefaced, and a blush crept along his round caramel-toned cheeks.

Mercedes moved her hands to her hips, the quintessential 'mommy's not playing' pose and stared at her son expectantly. He averted his gaze and scuffed the toe of his Chuck's against the floor nervously.

"Nothing," he said in a near whisper, not daring to look up into the face of doom looming above him. He was in trouble and he knew it. The soft, hesitant tone of his voice almost melted Mercedes' heart, but she stood firm—even if he was the cutest thing ever right now.

"Cameron," Mercedes prompted sternly, moving to stand in front of him. She waved the top of the cookie jar he'd left sitting on the counter in his haste in front of him then settled it in place. "Don't you dare tell me a story right now. You are not Dr. Seuss."

"I was getting cookies," Cameron admitted quietly, pulling a ziplock bag full of them from behind his back. He handed them to his mother guiltily and finally chanced a look into her eyes. At her disapproving stare, he looked away again, pouting.

"Cameron," Mercedes said," you know the rules of this house. When are you allowed to have cookies?"

"After dinner and with lunch on Saturdays," Cameron answered without hesitation, proving his mom correct. He did, in fact, know the rules of this house.

Mercedes nodded, satisfied with that answer. "You know this means your cookie privileges will have to be taken away for the rest of the week, right?"

Cameron's eyes widened in disbelief and horror. He pouted and immediately blurted, "But, I didn't eat any! I swear, mommy! I was just taking them for Tyler," he pleaded.

"You were what?" Mercedes asked, emptying the bag of looted cookies back into the container. Cameron watched the action with gloomy eyes.

"Daddy talked to Uncle Mike and he said he'd take me to see Tyler today even though he got the chicken pox. He said it's alright because I already had them when I was small. I was just taking the cookies because Ty said he feels gross. The cookies are yummy so he won't feel gross anymore," Cameron explained desperately. Mercedes struggled not to melt. Her baby boy was a sweetheart—a cookie monster, but a sweetheart nonetheless.

Mercedes' thoughts temporarily drifted as she thought of when this obsession with baked goods had begun.

The boy was the biggest cookie monster Mercedes had ever seen and it was ridiculous. He'd had his first taste when he was two years old. She'd baked a batch of snickerdoodles and thought she'd let him have one. That was it. If Cameron even saw a cookie, he had to have it.

He'd even written about it this year for his expository writing piece. His teacher, Ms. May, had assigned different prompts to the class. Cameron's had been, 'Write about something that makes you happy.' Cameron had gone right to the cookies, telling his parents that he surely needed to sample the different kinds so he'd be more accurate in his descriptions. Mercedes had shaken her head at him. She had never been this devious as a kid. He obviously got it from his father.

She did allow him an extra cookie at dinner, however, so he had three different varieties. She didn't want to be accused of impeding her child's academic endeavors, after all. Cameron's essay had read:

_**Hi, my name is Cameron Nicholas Evans. I am 7.**_

_**The thing that makes me the most happy in the world is cookies. I like to eat cookies all day, but my momma says that cookies have lots of sugar and lots of sugar is bad for you.**_

_**Sometimes I share my cookies with my bestest friend Tyler. His momma says the same thing my momma says. They sometimes always say the same things. They are bestest friends, too. And so is our dads. Momma says we are one big family even if we don't live in the same house. We are together a lot. My momma bakes cookies for all of us.**_

_**My favorite kind of cookie is snickerdoodles like my momma makes. They are soft and momma sprinkles some sugars on top. They are really good.**_

_**Sometimes in the summer when I visit Grandma and Grandpa Jones they make the same kind of cookies. Momma says Grandma taught her when she was 7 like me. When I visit Momma and Poppa Evans in Kentucky, sometimes I'm sad because they don't know how to make the cookies. But sometimes if Auntie Stacey is home, she will make them for me. Momma taught her an Uncle Stevie how when she was 7 like me. But Uncle Stevie always sometimes burns them.**_

_**Also I love sugar cookies, but I just like snickerdoodles the most**__._

Cameron had turned in this literary piece with a little container of snickerdoodles for his teacher. He'd come home proudly showing off his 'A+ You're Excellent' sticker and demanding a snickerdoodle for a job well done.

This was her kid—charming, cookie monster, Cameron, age 7.

Cameron shifted from one foot to the other in front of her, bringing Mercedes back to the present.

"Cam," she said, "Aunt Tina has the same rules for Ty. You know he can't have more than two cookies until after dinner, either. That doesn't change because he's sick. In fact, he has to eat even healthier now so he can get better quickly."

"I know! I was only gonna bring him one extra, momma," Cameron said, holding up one little finger for emphasis.

"Cameron, I counted five cookies in this bag and you were still reaching for more when I came in," Mercedes said, giving him a knowing look.

"He gets three and I got myself three, too," he told her. "So we can be equal. It's not nice to eat in front of people, right, mommy?" he asked her.

Mercedes couldn't fight back a chuckle at that. He'd taken her words and completely twisted them around to try and get himself out of trouble. This boy was going to grow up to drive her crazy, just like his father.

"Nice try, but that's not quite how it works, Cam," she told him and he smiled a crooked, sheepish smile at her. "As sweet as you are for wanting to take cookies to Ty, you still didn't ask for permission to take the cookies—and you pilfered some for yourself along the way, so you weren't _only_ thinking about Ty."

Cameron was suddenly enamored with the way his shoes scuffed against the floor.

"By the look on your face when I caught you, you weren't planning on mommy finding out," she told him.

Cameron's face fell. He knew what was coming. It didn't make it hurt any less when Mercedes said, "So, no cookies for a week."

Cameron looked like he might cry. His plump lower lip poked out in an adorable pout and his puppy dog eyes drooped to perfection. Mercedes had to fight serious urges to just scoop him up, shower him with kisses, and give him all the cookies he could ever want—but, then, she'd have a sugared up nut on her hands, who'd make a nuisance of himself around the house and never go to sleep. She had to stick to her guns. Cameron knew the rules.

Turning to the kitchen island, Mercedes grabbed a couple of apples and washed them in the sink before handing them to Cameron.

"Why don't you take that to Tyler and have one for yourself," Mercedes told him. Cameron looked at her as if to say, 'Yoooo, really? An apple, though?'

"What? There's sugar in it and it's healthy," Mercedes said at his look.

Sam chose this wonderful moment to wander into the kitchen. He smiled warmly at his wife and his son.

"You ready to go, Cam?" Cameron nodded, ready to trudge dejectedly out of the kitchen with his apples, when Sam reached into the cookie jar on the counter, grabbed four cookies in one handful, and popped a whole one into his mouth.

Mercedes brought a disbelieving hand to her face and just shook her head as she watched her husband chew on happily.

"What?" he asked when he noticed her look. She shook her head again, tucked in her lips, and said nothing as he bit into another cookie.

Sam looked around baffled at the silence in the room. His gaze dropped down to his pouting son, covetously watching him eating the cookies. Before Mercedes could say anything, he lowered his hand and fed an eager Cameron the rest of his cookie.

Cameron didn't dare look at his mother as he marched right out of the kitchen with his apples—happily munching on his cookie. Sam kissed her goodbye then followed right behind his son, taking another bite.

Her son was a cookie monster, and he obviously got it from his father.

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><p>I laughed so hard while writing this. I've had many conversations with my nephew that go just like this.<p>

**Did you like it? Let me know! Please review!**


	6. One of Those Days

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, but I do own all the babies.**

**A/N**: The question is finally answered...all of like a week later. I know the wait and suspense of it all was killing y'all. I know it. Let me know what you think. Leave me prompts and whatnot. **Review!**

If you haven't read my new fic, **Forever and Always**, you should read that—probably before you read this. Those of you who already have: Thank you! I hope this makes you smile after what I did. Lol.

Anyway...onward.

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><p>Mercedes sighed tiredly as she finally hung up the phone on what could possibly have been the longest meeting in history. It had definitely been one of <em>those<em> days. She'd woken up with every intention of making this an ultra-productive day—she had her list and everything. Then, a flat tire and a missed appointment with Cameron's doctor later, Mercedes was feeling like she would never catch up.

To top it off, the conference call she'd scheduled with her record label had been unexpectedly moved up by an hour. She'd had to drop everything and hurry to make it. She checked the time, resisting the urge to bang her head against the desk where she sat. The call had gone on about an hour and a half longer than she expected. She was now dismally behind on her motherly duties and housework in addition to everything else.

It just wasn't a great feeling to feel rushed, unprofessional, and "unmotherly" all at once. The entire day had officially been shot to hell—list and all.

Cameron and Sam were probably starving, and she hadn't gotten started on dinner yet. She'd put her daughter, Lilliana, down for a nap right before her meeting, meaning to wake her up and feed her after an hour. The baby had now napped ninety minutes too long. The laundry needed to be done. Cameron had a science project to work on, for which the supplies had not been bought. The list went on and on.

She sighed again, but steeled herself. She'd signed up for days like this when she decided to juggle being a mom and a wife with her career. It was hard, but that's just how it was. There was no use in wallowing.

She just hated feeling so inefficient. Things had been so much easier when Cameron was born. She'd already gotten her first Grammy under her belt. Making the decision to take some time off and be a mom was simple.

When she'd found out she was pregnant with Lilliana, however, she'd already been in the middle of recording her fourth record. She didn't feel like she could just walk away from it. So, she'd tried to do it all. For the most part, it worked, but, on days like this, she couldn't help feeling like she was stretching herself too thin and short changing her family a little.

Fighting the guilt and inadequacy she felt, she finally went to check on Lilliana. She'd start with the most essential things on her list now, and maybe she'd feel better about everything by bedtime.

She hadn't heard her daughter cry or shuffle around on the monitor, so she must have still been asleep. Tonight there would be hell to pay when everyone was ready for bed and Lilliana was wide awake and alert, ready to play.

Mercedes found herself looking into an empty crib when she got there, however. Figuring Sam must have had her, she walked back down the hallway and headed downstairs. The smell of food led her to the kitchen, where she found Sam standing in front of the stove stirring, chopping, and sautéing away.

"You're cooking?" she asked in a startled tone as she joined him at the stove and peeked into all the surely delicious food he had brewing. Sam was definitely not a stranger to the kitchen, having learned from his mother. She and Cameron had been happily enjoying his Tennessee-infused meals for years.

"Don't sound so shocked and appalled. You'll give me a bad chef complex," Sam joked, smiling at her.

"No. I meant, it's my turn tonight," Mercedes explained, looking at him guiltily. "You were working on your sketches."

"It's no big deal," Sam said, waving her off. "I got done early, poked my head into your office, and saw you were still busy, so I just decided to do it. Cameron's been asking for tacos for days now, so that's what we're having."

He silenced her next guilt ridden protest with a kiss. "It's not the end of the world if I cook dinner two nights in a row. No one expects you to do it all, all the time," Sam told her softly. "You're allowed to need help sometimes, babe. That's what I'm here for. Even Wonder Woman needed back-up some days," he finished with a charming smile.

Mercedes laughed at that and wrapped her arms around his waist in a strong hug. "Thank you," she told him quietly. She was always grateful for him, but right then, she was reminded of every reason she'd fallen head over heels for him.

"You're welcome," he told her, still smiling. "The apron says 'Kiss the Cook', though," Sam said, waving a hand over the words on his apron. He lowered his head with his eyes closed, puckering his lips at her comically. She laughed again, rising onto her tiptoes to kiss him. He deserved a kiss…and so much more.

"How'd the meeting go?" he asked her when she'd returned to her feet. "You looked stressed before."

"It wasn't even bad," she said rolling her eyes. "It was just discussing the dull and tedious stuff. I'll be sure to bore you to sleep with it all tonight."

"Well, that sounds wonderful. I can't wait for bedtime tonight," Sam said waggling his eyebrows.

Mercedes shook her head and pushed him away playfully. She was about to ask if she could help with anything, when she suddenly remembered the reason she'd been trying to find him. He obviously didn't have the baby.

"Honey, where's Lilly? I went to wake her from her nap and she's not in her crib. I thought you had her, actually," Mercedes said.

"Cam was down here bugging me about the tacos. I sent him up with a bottle to check on her while I got started on dinner," Sam said, turning his attention back to the food on the stove. "You know how he is with her. He probably took her into the living room to play."

Mercedes hugged him again then took off toward the living room. She could hear their voices the closer she got and padded softly so she wouldn't disturb them.

As a mother, it was her personal heaven to watch Cameron interact with his little sister. He'd simply been enamored with her since he first laid eyes on her—and the way Lilliana smiled and reached for him whenever he was around indicated she was just as charmed with her big brother.

Cameron's protective disposition toward Lilliana reminded Mercedes a lot of Sam's relationship with his younger siblings. Though Lilliana was only seven months old to Cameron's twelve years, Cameron never failed to make space for her in his day. If he was sitting around, playing video games with Tyler in the living room, Lilliana was usually in her bouncer nearby, where he could still play with her. Mercedes and Sam often found him in the nursery, crawling around on the floor with her, or sitting with her in the rocking chair, trying to get her to say silly things.

Mercedes loved to look in on them when they didn't know anyone was watching. It simply warmed her heart. The moment she was witnessing now was no different.

Cameron continued to feed his sister, oblivious to his mother's fond gaze. Lilliana lay in his arms as he brushed a gentle hand over her brown curls. She held her bottle in her mouth with her left hand, while she waved the other one in front of Cameron's face, her big brown doe eyes alight with laughter.

Every few seconds Cameron leaned down and kissed her hand noisily. It seemed they'd been doing this a while, because every time he kissed her, Lilliana stopped drinking to giggle joyfully at her brother. She'd pull her hand away, cooing at him, before repeating the action again.

It was all Mercedes could do not to run into the room and cry all over them while hugging them to her chest. They were just too much for her—but she would have been ruining their moment.

She stood watching them for another moment before heading back toward the kitchen to help Sam with dinner. Her full heart put the smile the crappy day had taken away right back on her face. Her family just had a knack for making one of _those_ days worth it.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Let me know! Leave me a review. They make my heart smile. Really. They do.<strong>

If you have any prompts, leave those for me, too.


	7. Whatever Lilly Wants

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, but I do own Cameron, Tyler, Lilly and all their classy swag.**

Thanks so much to everyone who has read, reviewed, alerted, favorited. It really gives me the drive to keep writing!

Special thanks to **keeponsmilingg**! Your encouragement and support are what keep me sane.

**A/N:** I got requests from a couple of people to see Lilly and her boys, so here it is. I hope I did good. Let me know. **Review!**

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><p>Mercedes and Tina couldn't help themselves. They were laughing—and it wasn't just <em>any<em> kind of laughing, the two were crying out their amusement, and laughing _so_ deeply, that sounds ceased to emanate from their mouths. It was a deep belly laugh that stole their breaths, and made their cheeks hurt from the effort.

It wasn't everyday that a girl walked in to her house to find two very embarrassed grown men—and two unashamed teenage boys—sat to an elaborate tea party with a six year old girl. They probably should have been surprised by the scene before them, but they weren't _at all_.

Mercedes and Tina had been out for a day of dress fittings and spa treatments—they would be attending a gala, at which Mercedes was performing, the next night—and the girls wanted a day of de-stressing to look their absolute best.

This meant that their husbands would stay home with the kids while the girls primped. It'd been a good plan until Lilliana started crying her little eyes out as the girls headed for the door. "I wanna go with y'all," she cried miserably, holding on to Tina's hand tightly as she rubbed her eyes with the other hand. The six-year old sometimes enjoyed a girls' day with her mommy and 'Teetee', and she was not amused with being left out of the plans this time around.

Mercedes and Tina had negotiated with her, promising her some girl time on another day. Lilliana agreed, but she pouted as she walked away from them, making them aware of all the ways she did not approve.

The girls felt bad, but Sam reassuringly told them not to worry about it. "She's just put out because she can't go right now. She'll calm down eventually," Sam said with a small smile. He gave Mercedes a quick kiss goodbye and hugged Tina, promising to find some way to incorporate Lilliana into their boys' day, before he followed his moping 'Lilly Bean' into the living room where Mike, Cameron, and Tyler were waiting.

By the looks of things, however, it seemed that it was _Lilliana_ who had incorporated all the boys she had wrapped tightly around her little finger, into her revamped girls' day instead.

So, the girls just simply could not hold in their giggles when they walked into the den to find all the boys sat around Lilliana's tea set, mid-tea party. Had it ended there, the giggles would probably have died down within a few minutes, but it _hadn't_ ended there.

All four boys had their hair clipped, barretted, and bowed to the max—all sporting the latest hairstylings of one Lilliana Naomi Evans. It seemed she'd held an extensive makeover session to rival her Uncle Kurt's in addition to tea time.

Mike looked away from the laughing girls, self-consciously adjusting the pink glittery headband he was sporting. Sam blushed furiously and hung his head a little, making the girls laugh even more, as the red bow, which held a tuft of hair straight up in the middle of his head, bobbed up and down.

Tyler and Cameron were shameless. Tyler smiled brightly and fluffed his hair, showing off the humongous flower barrette that clipped his floppy black hair to right side of his head.

Cameron's long curly locks were the most elaborately styled. He had about a dozen little red bows adorning the ends of his hair. He only smirked at his mother and godmother, before bringing his little tea cup to his lips—his pinky perfectly extended just as Mercedes had taught Lilliana, and Lilliana had no doubt taught all of her guests.

Tyler cheered him on, chuckling as he copied the action, informing Mercedes and Tina that he and Cameron had that "classy swag". Cameron burst out laughing at that, then they high-fived each other and fell out into fits of laughter. Their fathers looked on, just shaking their heads. This just made the girls laugh more—as Sam's bow shook back and forth at the action and Mike's headband gleamed. How they thought they were in any position to give their sons the 'judging you' face, the girls would never know.

"This is just _too_ perfect," Mercedes said when she could finally breathe again, and Tina nodded her head in agreement. Sam and Mike groaned simultaneously, knowing the girls would _never_ let them live this down—just as they had never forgotten, _or stopped mentioning_, the time they walked in on the boys having an _intense_ Barbie melt-down a couple of years ago.

Apparently _Samantha_, Sam's Barbie, had been really upset about something mean _Mikayla, _Mike's Barbie, had said. The two went back and forth, arguing in high-pitched voices, oblivious to their wives watching them from the doorway. A then three-year old Lilliana sat between her dad and her godfather, watching the simulated argument intently and offering her feedback.

"No, friends are sad if they not be friends," Lilliana told them earnestly, not liking where this story line was going at all. A frown marred her cute little face. Her little button nose crinkled adorably, and she furrowed her eyebrows as she continued. "They have to hug for they can be happy—like-_like_ when I hug Brianna at school and she's my _best_ friend."

Whatever Lilliana wanted, Lilliana got. Immediately, Sam and Mike's Barbie argument turned into a sobfest, _Samantha_ and _Mikayla_ wailing about the fact that they should "be bestest friends forever and never fight"—complete with Sam's and Mike's fake-crying faces as they made the Barbie's hug and apologize. Lilliana giggled gleefully and clapped her hands together at the reunion. Soon, she was suggesting another story line, and the boys were gearing up to act it out for her without hesitation.

The girls had been unable to keep their giggles quiet and made their presence known. It was much the same situation now. Two men and two teenagers had been left at home, and it was to the will of the lone six-year old girl that they all bent. Lilliana's power over her boys knew no bounds.

Before the boys could stop her, Mercedes whipped out her phone and snapped a picture. Sam and Mike's eyes bugged out in protest, but Cameron and Tyler smiled brightly, making sure to display their coiffures proudly.

The boys sighed in relief as their wives headed into the kitchen, and Lilliana clung to them, releasing them from tea party duty. Discarding the little red bow and pink glitter headband, Sam and Mike headed to the couch to recover with some football and a beer. Tyler and Cameron joined them at the TV, keeping their hairstyles intact.

Lilliana followed after her mother and godmother, regaling them with tales of her well-spent day—how daddy had let her help with making tomato soup for lunch and even made her a smiley face out of cheese. Then he'd played the guitar while she danced and sang with him and Uncle Mike. She went on about how Tyler had let her put the rocking horse saddle on his back and taken her all around the house and backyard on an adventure. She smiled brightly when she talked about how Cameron had drawn her a pretty picture of a singing princess that had a short, curly brown bob like her, then all the boys had sat around and colored with her for a while.

All in all, it seemed Sam had been right. Lilliana _had_ ultimately enjoyed her day, even if he'd probably had no idea what he was getting himself into when he'd spoken those words. As much as the girls made fun, it warmed their hearts to see the boys so enamored and caring with their 'Lilly Bean'. It was clear they would do _anything_ to make her happy.

She was an extremely lucky little girl, surrounded by so much love. The same could not be said for any boys who would ever want to date her in the future. They would have four ridiculously protective bulldogs to get past first. The girls thanked heaven they had another several years before they had to start dealing with that.

Mercedes shot Tina another amused grin, shaking her head when Lilliana started talking about how the boys had watched Chloe's Closet with her to help her cheer up. The happy lilt of Lilliana's voice as she talked about her boys wasn't lost on them.

Whether or not the boys knew it, they held just as much power over her.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Leave me a review! They make me smile and keep me writing!<strong>

If there is something you'd like to see, suggest a prompt! It could make it in to a future one-shot.


	8. He's Climbin' In Your Windows

Disclaimer: I have problems. Oh. And I don't own Glee.

A/N: If you're like me and **keeponsmilingg**, and deathly afraid of these things, sorry. I don't know why I did this.

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><p>As the man of the house, there were certain sounds that gave Sam great comfort and pleasure when he heard them in his home. The sounds that were familiar to him after twenty years of building this life—like the sound of his children's laughter and their excited voices when they spoke; the sound of Mercedes' car pulling into the driveway when she'd been away anywhere; the sound of working appliances that he wouldn't have to fight Mercedes about fixing; the sound of his beer clinking against Mike's right before they got settled in for an afternoon of football (or sci-fi marathoning).<p>

The sound of his wife screaming his name usually held a special gratification, but when the call was severely lacking in lust and laced with terror instead—while he was in another room entirely—the pleasure dissipated and made way for panic.

This was the exact situation Sam found himself in when Mercedes screamed his name that afternoon. Immediately noticing the alarm in her tone, Sam darted off toward the sound, fully intending to fulfill his duty as her husband and keep her from harm's way.

He found her in the kitchen, ducked behind the island, holding her left shoe in her hand. The right one, he noticed, was nowhere to be seen. Her face was the picture of fright, but he was standing in the kitchen with her now and hadn't seen anything that would cause this sort of reaction from her.

He was about to ask her what the hell was going on when he noticed it. There, next to their open breadbox was a squirrel. It took no notice of Sam as it continued to munch on the slice of bread in its hands.

Sam took a long look at the squirrel, allowing himself to fully process the situation, and then he was cowering right next to his wife behind the island. _There was a fucking squirrel in the house!_

"How the hell did it get in here?" he asked her, whispering as if the squirrel might hear and decide to attack them. His eyes looked at her accusingly and Mercedes momentarily forgot her fear to stare at him in disbelief.

"Why the hell are you asking me?" she whispered back indignantly. "Like I opened the door and invited him in for lunch or something."

"Well, you were in here first," he told her.

"Yeah, to make y'all lunch! Not to invite _rodents_ in to share in our meal!" Mercedes hissed at him.

"What do we do?" he asked then, and Mercedes simply shook her head.

"I don't know. That's why I called _you_," she told him. "I already tried throwing my shoe at it," Mercedes said. Holding up the one shoe she had left in her possession for emphasis.

Sam's eyes widened and he nodded his head in understanding. He looked at her, expecting her to tell him what happened and she continued.

"I missed," she told him, her eyebrows knitted as she frowned. "Well, I missed the squirrel. You're going to have to ask Lilly to make you another mug the next time we're at Color Me Mine, because I nailed _that_."

Sam actually frowned when he thought of the lost mug and Mercedes winced, knowing he'd be disappointed.

He'd had it since the first time they'd gone as a family, six months ago—when Lilly was actually old enough to paint something on her own. Sam's birthday had been around the corner and Lilly had decided her _Dadda_, for she never called him anything else, needed a mug.

She'd painted a picture of the two of them and labeled it Dadda & Lilly. It'd been a proud moment for the 3 year old, who'd just been over the moon that she'd spelled her name correctly. It was also a proud moment for Sam, who was a major sap when it came to his little girl, and had literally fawned over gift. From that day, he'd refused to use any other mug and always proudly showed it off to anyone who came to visit.

Sam tried to be consoled by the fact that they still had a couple dozen pictures of the day, and Lilly would always be happy to go back and create another masterpiece for him. He squeezed Mercedes arm reassuringly to help relieve her guilt and then got back to the matter at hand—the rodent in their kitchen eating their fucking bread.

Sam braved a look over the top of the island, seeing the animal still there—oblivious to the havoc it was creating. He looked around the kitchen for a moment, trying to come up with any sort of plan that would get the intruder outside where he belonged.

Mercedes eyed him curiously, not daring to move. If that bread-eating trespasser decided to do something sinister, she was _not_ going to be the victim. She still had another shoe, and she wasn't afraid to use it. She clutched it closer to her, taking comfort in her chosen weapon.

Suddenly Sam dropped back down to the floor with a smug gleam in his eyes. "I have an idea," he whispered conspiratorially with a giddy grin. Mercedes would have laughed at his expression if not for the paralyzing terror keeping her stuck to her spot.

"What?" she whispered back, but he was already duck-walking away into the pantry across from them. Seconds later, he reemerged, waving a can of mixed nuts at her triumphantly, before he duck-walked back to his spot next to her.

Mercedes struggled between laughing at his ridiculousness and rewarding his brilliance with a kiss. In the end, her fear won out and she only watched his actions with wide eyes—entirely interested in what he'd do next.

He handed her the can when he got close enough to her, then chanced another look over the island. Only his eyes peeked over the counter, watching the squirrel's every move intently. Seeing the squirrel was still occupied, he crept along leaving a trail of peanuts, cashews, and almonds in his wake. The trail led to the backdoor, which Sam slowly opened, before turning to face the intruder again.

Watching the animal closely, Sam removed his shoe, intending to use it as a shield in case anything went down.

The squirrel stopped its munching to look in the direction of the bright sun coming from the open doorway. Sam internally cheered. _This was so going to work!_ He looked back to smile reassuringly at Mercedes, but she still hadn't dared to move from her spot, and was still hidden away behind the island.

To Sam's dismay, when he returned his gaze to the squirrel, it'd resumed its munching, seemingly uninterested in returning to its natural habitat at the moment. _Fuck!_

He did the most logical thing that came to mind then, and began chucking peanuts, cashews, and almonds at the animal—because this would _surely_ get its attention and make it proceed to the door in a calm and orderly manner, without any further trouble.

One minute the squirrel was eating its stolen bread, the next it was scurrying off the counter after being hit with a slew of nuts, and _away_ from Sam and the door—_towards Mercedes hiding spot_.

Before he could warn her, the squirrel scurried onto the floor and around the island startling her.

What happened next could only be described as mayhem. Mercedes shot up screaming for dear life, arms and legs thrashing about. She threw the shoe she'd been holding, and it clattered as it landed on a stack of dishes, rustling them and causing a few to fall from the rack where they'd been drying. The squirrel, startled by the unexpected commotion, circled toward Sam again, this time racing for the open doorway—not once stopping to regard the trail of nuts he'd left. Sam slammed the door closed the second the squirrel crossed the threshold and prayed it would never return.

Mercedes was so petrified and upset that she hadn't noticed and continued lose her mind with every additional second. Sam couldn't make out all of the words she screamed in her terrified state, but what he did let him know that he had to calm her down or she would be passing out soon.

He wanted to laugh, but he bit it back, choosing instead to deal with her panic attack. Besides, what fun would it be if she was way too freaked to even stop and glare at him like she normally would? He'd tease her later, when he could actually get some of that sass he loved for his troubles.

He gently reached out his hands to steady hers, which were still swatting at every inch of her crawling skin. Hysterical didn't even cover it right now.

"Oh my God, Sam! It's on me! Get it off me! Get it away! Oh my God! I'm burning my fucking clothes! Sam! Get it off! Oh my God! We have to move!" Mercedes' words were mixed in with random screams and thrashing—she practically clawed at him, her eyes were still closed, as she tried to get rid of the long-gone squirrel.

"Baby, it's gone," he said in the softest voice he could muster, hoping to break through her haze. "Hey," he said, grabbing her face when she continued screaming. He spoke soothingly into her ear, asking her to calm down and holding her tightly—wincing but not moving away as her hand hit at him. His grit was soon rewarded when she finally started to relax and stopped moving about.

Her eyes popped open and she momentarily looked around the kitchen, trying to located the animal, as she pressed herself into Sam to shield herself. She finally noticed their intruder had made his exit and breathed a sigh of relief. She turned back to her husband then, using his comforting eyes to steady her. Immediately her grip on Sam's arms changed. She removed her nails from the grooves they'd been digging into his skin, and threw her arms around his neck—sagging into him as she tried to control her breathing.

He stayed steadily rubbing circles into her back, helping her relax.

"How the hell did that thing get in here?" Mercedes said after a while. "We have to find how and fix it, or we have to move."

Sam started to laugh, but choked on it when Mercedes sent a glare his way. The look on her face indicated she was not even close to joking. Sam immediately got started on looking. He'd find the problem and fix it. They'd been living in this house for fourteen years, he happened to be quite fond of it.

_**Meanwhile in Lilliana's room…**_

Cameron was rushing toward the kitchen after hearing a succession of screams. It sounded as if someone was getting murdered. His parents always got up to weird shenanigans at any given time, on any given day, but they weren't prone to screaming bloody murder for the heck of it. _What in the world was going on?_

He stopped short, however, seeing his three-year old sister standing near her bedroom window. Normally, that wasn't an odd sight, Lilly liked to look outside and talk to the birds and other animals. He was startled however by the gaping hole in the screen window. It seemed Lilly had applied pressure with her little hands against the screen until it popped out on the edge. Cameron could see the little hand marks in the material.

What's more, Lilly had taken her snack and was reaching her hand through the hole to leave them on her window sill. A squirrel sat further down on the sill, nibbling on the snacks.

"Oh my God, Lills! What are you doing sweetheart?" he said, scooping up the toddler. Her bottom lip quivered as if she would cry when the squirrel scurried away and Cameron shut the window. Cameron hugged her to him tightly and promised he'd take her outside to play in an effort to placate her.

"I was playing with the 'scuorwol'," Lilly told him, with a pout. "He's 'hungwy'."

Cameron smiled at her. "Yeah, but you gotta play with the squirrels _outside_, Lills. That's where they belong. If you play with them in here, they'll get inside and they'll be sad because we don't have any nice trees or anything. Do you want him to be sad?"

Lilliana's big brown eyes widened adorably in concern, and she shook her head adamantly. "'Sowwy scuorwol,'" she offered to the long-gone animal, truly feeling bad she'd almost made him sad.

They were about to find out how wrong they were as Cameron carried his sister toward the kitchen, to tell his parents about the busted screen. Apparently, an open breadbox could keep a squirrel perfectly happy indoors.

Cameron expected his dad would want to fix the broken screen as soon as possible. He knew how his mother got about random bugs getting inside.

He didn't expect to find them both crawling along the kitchen floor staring intently at all of the cabinets and every inch of the room. Fifteen years with these parents, this didn't even broach the top ten of the wackiest things he'd seen, but he was still at a loss.

There was never a dull moment in the Evans household. He shook his head, smiling fondly as he continued to walk toward them. He set Lilly on her feet, and the three-year old immediately thought it was a game and started to crawl around with her parents, squealing something about 'horsies' and 'fun'.

Cameron didn't really want to know, but he'd ask anyway. The tale was sure to be amusing.

"Do I even wanna know?" he asked taking a seat at the kitchen island. He lifted his feet off the floor as Sam crawled by him.

"You wouldn't even believe it," Sam told his son. "A squirrel got in here somehow and took all of our bread hostage. Scared the crap out of your mom," Sam said, seemingly forgetting he'd been right there cowering with his wife behind the island mere minutes ago.

Mercedes would have shot Sam a look then, but Cameron fell out laughing, drawing both of his parents' attention to him.

"Oh, you'll just _love_ this," Cameron started, knowing he'd enjoy relaying this story.

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><p>Did you like it? Let me know! Leave me a <strong>review<strong>! :)


	9. Sleep Baby Sleep

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

**A/N:** I wanted to say thank you to all the readers and reviewers of this series. It's been fun writing this universe and sharing these stories with y'all. That being said, this will be the last Little Wonders update for a while (I need some time to focus on some other things, but it won't be gone forever). So, I wanted to leave y'all with something heartwarming, and I hope I did that. I hope y'all enjoy it.

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><p>Mercedes woke up to her dark bedroom, instinctively knowing something was off. Sam's usual warmth around her was missing—the man was a notorious cuddler—and his now familiar snores failed to sound in the silent room.<p>

Squinting her eyes against the glare, Mercedes checked the time on the alarm clock on her nightstand. The bright green LED numbers let her know it was just a few minutes past 3am, and cast a tiny glow around the bedroom—enough for her to determine Sam wasn't there.

She sat up blearily, looking toward the bathroom—after his particular faux pas with that night's dinner, she wouldn't be surprised if he was spending his night in there. He'd insisted on trying a new marinara recipe, heavy on the sriracha as Tina had been _raving_ about it. Sam had downed about a gallon of water with his meal.

Seeing that the bathroom lights were off, and not hearing the telltale signs of an overworked bladder, Mercedes rubbed the sleep from her eyes and resolved to go off in search of him in the one place she knew he'd be.

As if on cue, she heard some shifting on the baby monitor that sat on her nightstand, before Sam's soft humming permeated the quiet room. She smiled as the hum transitioned into _Sleep,Baby,Sleep_ and their son, Cameron, cooed faintly.

After gently easing her still-sore body out of the bed, Mercedes quietly padded down the hallway to their son's nursery. She peered around the door, not wanting to disturb them—it was a small thrill for her to look in these moments.

She watched as Sam cradled their son to his chest, almost reverently, as he continued to sway around gingerly with him to the lullaby he sang. Cameron fussed lightly, one of his tiny hands clutching onto the fabric of Sam's t-shirt, while he sucked on the thumb of his other hand. Sam rubbed his large hand across the baby's back in a soothing motion and interrupted his song to drop a kiss to his son's forehead. Cameron quieted, closing his eyes again.

Mercedes' heart melted as she watched them—her little family. These were the moments they'd dreamed of, way before she and Sam had made it official—back when they were just two teenagers in love, spouting lofty ideas of the kind of life they might make together. But, it wasn't just a dream anymore—this was it. They'd made it passed all the heartache, passed all the drama, passed _everything_ that threatened to keep them apart with the sheer strength of the love they had for one another—_they made it_. And now they were here, counting their blessings and simply basking in their happiness.

Mercedes couldn't help her heart feeling full at the sight—or her feet from moving toward them now.

Sam's sway slowed slightly when he saw her, and he offered her a soft smile as she moved closer, reaching a hand out to bring her into their embrace. Mercedes went without hesitation, wrapping her arm around his waist and placing her free hand on their son's back.

She smiled again, tearing up at Cameron's relaxed stance, as he continued sucking on his thumb. She felt Sam's arm squeeze her a little tighter and smiled wider when he dropped a kiss to her forehead. Tearing her eyes away from Cameron, she looked up to her husband.

"He was crying," Sam said quietly when their eyes locked.

"I didn't hear the monitor," Mercedes said, eyes furrowed in concern. It was a fear of hers that she'd be sleeping and fail to hear Cameron's cries. She was always obsessively checking and re-checking the settings.

"Alright, so maybe he was _about_ to cry and I was already standing in here watching him sleep," Sam admitted a bit sheepishly.

Mercedes concerned expression transitioned into a fond smile. She closed her eyes, giggling as she rubbed at her face with her hand, before settling it back on Cameron's back.

Sam had been doing the same thing for the two weeks Cameron had been home with them, which is how she'd guessed he'd likely be in the nursery when he wasn't in their bed. Simply put, Sam was in awe of his son. He watched him constantly, fascinated with every little thing he did—from opening his eyes, to breastfeeding, to sucking his thumb, to sleeping.

"I can always catch up on sleep," Sam had said, brushing off Mercedes' concern. "You remember that article we read? The one that said that they change real fast when they're this little. I just don't want to miss anything."

Mercedes didn't think he would—the man was like a one-person paparazzi crew as it was. His camera was permanently attached to his hand. She was sure they had enough pictures and footage of the seventeen days of their son's life to fill a gallery. And, if she was being honest, she had not an ounce of room to judge his fervor—she was just as bad as he was.

Surely Kurt and Blaine hadn't needed to see _all_ of the 150 shots she'd showed them when they came to visit the baby, but she'd showed them off proudly anyway.

The only people who seemed to understand and match their passion were Tina and Mike, whose son, Tyler, was born the same day. They eagerly traded pictures back and forth, fawning over each other's baby boys, and eagerly planning how the 'twins' would do _everything_ together.

"I can't help it," Sam whispered in the quiet nursery, nuzzling his nose into the baby's soft honey-blond hair."We spent so much time dreaming him up, dreaming this life up for us, and now he's here and it's happening. It still just kinda blows my mind."

Mercedes offered him a smile so full of the love and admiration that threatened to spill out of her. That feeling of contentment she felt every time she thought of their little family, of the life they were building together, she knew Sam felt it, too.

She laid her head on the free side of Sam's chest and tightened her hold on his waist. "He's asleep," she whispered quietly, running a finger gently over Cameron's forehead. He continued sucking on his thumb and sleeping peacefully.

Sam's only response was to pull her tighter to his chest, still humming and swaying gently.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Please leave me a review? They make my day.<strong>


	10. Road Trip

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I just have the misfortune of loving the characters from that shitfest so very much.

**A/N:** I'm back! Yaaaay? Lol. Let me know what you think. I like reviews. Please excuse any errors I might have missed.

Special thanks to **keeponsmilingg** because she's the 'Cedes to my Nick. Love you!

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><p>"Sam, it's really quiet back there," Mercedes said with a wary glance toward the back of their truck, where their usually vocal four-year old had suddenly gone silent a little while ago. Lilliana was <em>never<em> silent. So, either the four-year old diva had fallen asleep—or she was up to something. Her parents tended to think it was the latter…well, because Lilliana was _always_ up to something.

Sam and Mercedes constantly marveled at the sticky situations she'd manage to find herself in. She'd definitely inherited her father's boldness, sense of adventure, as well as his charm—which opened up _plenty_ of opportunity for trouble, and Lilliana took every one she got.

Once upon a time, Sam and Mercedes had expected this behavior from Cameron, but he'd proven to be pretty level-headed and rational most of the time. Lilliana, on the other hand, had a dreamer's disposition—she was curious about everything and always had a million thoughts swishing about her head. That, coupled with the drive she'd inherited from both of her parents, made her a bit of an unintentional troublemaker.

Like the time she let the squirrel into the house—she'd just wanted to feed the animal and hadn't really understood why making a hole in the screen window of her bedroom had been the wrong choice.

Or the time she'd lodged three beads from her newly braided hair right up her nose—she couldn't explain _why_ she did it. It had just occurred to her in that moment and she'd followed the impulse.

There was also the time where she'd hoisted herself up onto Mercedes' vanity bench and applied an obscene amount of makeup to her entire face. She'd then proceeded to put on a pair of her mother's sneakers and waltz proudly into her dad's home office to show off her handiwork. She'd been upset when Sam only goggled at her and went to show Cameron instead.

She didn't mean any harm, she just couldn't help her curiosity—and that almost always got her into a mess. Her parents had long since learned to look and listen for the warning signs, one of which was silence.

Mercedes looked toward the back of the truck again, craning to get a view of her daughter, but her seat belt made the task difficult. The family was in the middle of their annual Christmas morning road trip—this time to visit with Sam's family in Kentucky. Lilliana had insisted she sit in the very last row of seats in the car, her '_personal _seat'. She'd learned the word in school a few weeks back, and that was it. _Everything_ was her personal something. She'd laid claim to anything from her _personal_ toys, to her _personal_ room, to her _personal_ clothes.

She'd even gone as far as claiming Sam when she'd been sick the week before—and that was a glorious twenty-four hour period where she'd been extra clingy and fussy as all get out. She'd thrown a fit at the mere mention of Sam having to leave the house for a meeting for a couple of hours. She'd cried real diva tears and informed him he was her 'personal Daddy'.

It'd taken all Mercedes had to push Sam out of the door. He lived to spoil his little girl rotten, but they had to draw a line somewhere.

The car seat was just the latest in a string of things she'd claimed as her own.

Even though her parents were a bit uncomfortable with the idea of her sitting in the very last row, they figured they could set up her booster seat back there just the same, and Cameron—who sat in the middle seat—would keep an eye on her.

Except, Cameron had passed out somewhere around hour three of Sam's special 'Evans Family Chris-Mix #16'. By the way his long, lanky body sprawled across the backseat, snoring softly, and oblivious to the world, he was out for the count—and probably wouldn't return to the land of the living until they made it to their destination.

"Maybe she's just asleep," Sam said, countering Mercedes' concern. "I mean, look at Cam," he told her.

Mercedes laughed as her son went right on snoring. He'd been fine at the start of their drive, but apparently he'd tuckered himself out after the very invigorated family sing along of Human Nature.

Mercedes tried to go back to just enjoying the drive with Sam—he was probably right and Lilliana had just succumbed to the lull of the moving vehicle as her brother had. They'd been making this drive since they first moved in together in college and it was a tradition that held, even when they'd started their family.

She tried to engage again and just enjoy the music, but she couldn't shake being worried about Lilly—call it the mom in her. Sam noticed and sighed, wordlessly pulling into the next rest stop.

Families milled about the area as Sam parked the car and Mercedes beamed at him, kissing his cheek before hopping out. Cameron shot up, blearily looking around him.

"We're there?" he asked, his face scrunching up in confusion as he looked out of the front window.

Sam chuckled watching his son try to get his bearings. He was about to respond teasingly, when Mercedes exclaimed, "Oh my God!" from the back of the truck.

In a second, Sam was out of the car, jogging over to his wife to see what was happening.

Cameron was even more confused now and turned to the direction he'd heard his mom's voice come from. He spotted her and noted the befuddled look on her face. He followed her gaze and, as soon as his eyes landed on Lilly, he burst into tear-inducing laughter.

The little girl's face, hands, and dress were _covered_ in chocolate. They'd gotten an early start so Mercedes had purchased a few things at a supermarket in Lima before they hit the road. Cameron had requested Nutella—which he'd placed in a bag of purchases next to Lilly when he'd finished.

Clearly, that had been a mistake—she'd gotten into the jar and gone _crazy_.

Mercedes lifted her gaze from her sleeping four-year old to her husband, who was trying his hardest not to laugh—and failing.

"Sam, this isn't funny. This is a mess," Mercedes said, failing to hold back an exasperated giggle. She swirled her hand in circles over her daughter's motionless frame.

"Oh, I know. The laughter is only holding back my tears," Sam said still chuckling. "She's going to be a nightmare tonight—especially if she gets sick."

Cameron still giggled spastically as he watched the scene before him. His phone was out snapping pictures and Sam and Mercedes knew they'd be Instagram material in a matter of minutes.

Mercedes shot Sam a teasing smile and said, "Well, at least we know she's her father's child." Sam's only response was an intense look to mirror his wife's and an impish smile.

Cameron noticed immediately when the mood changed between the two and his giggling stopped abruptly. His smile was replaced with a familiar queasy look. "Oh, eww. Honestly," he said, turning around and opening the car door. He stepped onto the pavement, shutting the door, before telling his parents, "I'm gonna go get a snack—and maybe some bleach for my eyes…and my brain."

With that, he took off toward the small mart—only to turn back to his parents a moment later.

Sam raised an eyebrow at his son's continued presence.

Cameron raised a palm toward his father, "I need some money for the snack—and the bleach."

Sam shook his head and pulled out his wallet, handing Cameron a $20 bill.

"Would you two like anything?" Cameron asked. "Some baby wipes for all this, perhaps?" Cameron said pointing at his sister, who was still oblivious to all of the activity around her.

"I have some," Mercedes told him, moving to the trunk of the car to get them. "But, get your sister a couple bottles of Pedialyte if you can find it. If not, water should do."

"Okay, I'll be right back," Cameron said looking between both of his parents. "Don't forget I'm in there and leave me again. I was not amused last time. I will not be amused this time. Mirror check before you take off. I'm the _curly-haired_ blond. Your son—been around for 16 years. If I'm not sitting in that middle seat, the car does not move. Are we clear?"

Sam rolled his eyes and Cameron shrugged. Close enough. He had his cell phone. He could always call them again, like he had last year when they forgot him just outside of Kentucky. He took off toward the store, his wild blond curls flapping against his back as he went.

Sam and Mercedes shared another playful smile and laughed. A wise ass for a son, and chocoholic diva for a daughter—they were the luckiest parents in the world.

Together, they got Lilliana clean in a matter of minutes—Sam responsible for cleaning the left side, and Mercedes responsible for the right. Mercedes carefully took off the dress, trying desperately not to get chocolate all over the car. The groggy four-year old whined uncomfortably as the cold wipes swiped across her skin, but didn't wake up.

After Sam pulled on her new outfit, he turned back toward the front seat, stopping short when Mercedes climbed in next to Lilliana. He gave her a questioning look.

"The personal seat thing is definitely over," Mercedes said sternly. "I'm going to wake her up as soon as Cameron gets back with those drinks and start dealing with the sugar shock. Then she's going to explain exactly what she was thinking consuming all that chocolate."

Sam was disappointed. He enjoyed having Mercedes co-pilot the road trips, but he was also glad not to be playing bad cop. He sucked at bad cop and usually had more issues with punishing Lilliana than Lilliana had with being punished.

Cameron was back a few minutes later, thrusting the Pedialyte bottles at his mother and climbing into the front seat next to his dad.

He looked to his dad after he fixed his seat belt and said, "Head count?"

Sam rolled his eyes again. "All Evans are present and accounted for, knucklehead," Sam answered dryly.

"There's no need for name calling," Cameron said, eyes widened innocently as he sipped on his drink through a straw.

Sam sighed and looked back to his wife, "You sure you don't want your spot back?"

Mercedes giggled at the exasperated look on his face, but shook her head. Lilliana wasn't getting away from her scolding or her Pedialyte.

Sam turned back toward the front and Cameron slapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, Mav, do some of that pilot shi—uh, stuff," Cameron said awkwardly. "Sorry, Mom," he added prematurely, glad she was all the way in the back of the car—too far away to slap him upside the head.

Mercedes simply shook her head and started to shake her daughter awake.

"I feel the need," she heard Sam say loudly as he started the car.

"The need for speed," Sam and Cameron shouted together as Sam started to move the car back toward the highway.

Lilliana's eyes popped open at the noise and she scowled tiredly at her mother.

"I don't feel good," she pouted.

Mercedes lifted the Pedialyte toward her daughter with a sigh.

This was her family—and she wouldn't trade a single crazy one of them for the entire world.

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><p>Cam is so sassy. I love him. Lol.<p>

**Did you like it? Let me know! Review!**


	11. Keep You With Me

"Mercy, we need you in five."

"Thanks, Nikki," Mercedes said quietly, giving her assistant a short nod in acknowledgment, and then shifting her apologetic gaze back to the screen where she'd been Skyping with Sam and Cameron. She'd planned to set aside at least an hour to speak to them, but her tight schedule had derailed that plan from the start. The projected hour had been cut to a rushed ten minutes right before her show.

"Baby," Mercedes began, already wincing at the disappointed quirk of Sam's lips. "I'm sorry," she finished weakly.

The frustrated resignation in his green eyes pierced her heart and she swallowed thickly at the sight of them. Their one-year old went on babbling from his place in Sam's lap, playing with his stuffed Captain America doll, oblivious to the tense mood between his parents.

"Just have a good show," Sam muttered, barely holding back a roll of his eyes. He mustered up a tight smile for her, but Mercedes had been with him long enough to know it wasn't genuine. She sighed and looked away from the screen, where Sam had turned his attention from her to Cameron.

All the previous times she'd been on tour, Sam had always had the flexibility in his schedule to join her. Even with her frequent shows and the work he brought along, those months they spent traveling from stop to stop were a bit like an extended vacation to them. The only thing that mattered was that they got to be together. No matter the adventure each new stop provided—and there were many—they had experienced it as one.

Although Mercedes had long ago upgraded from the rickety vans at the start of her career to a pretty swanky tour bus after her first record exploded, she hadn't wanted to subject Cameron to life on the road—being cooped up in a bus, going from town to town, and struggling to keep any kind of regular schedule. This unfortunately meant that Sam stayed behind as well, as neither of them thought it was a good idea that Cameron be without both of them for three months.

She had thought she was ready for this. When the subject of touring to support her album had come up earlier that year, the three months she would have to go away from her family hadn't really registered. She even remembered stupidly saying, "It's only twelve weeks," the night she came home from her meeting and told Sam about the label's plans. Sensing her excitement over the opportunity, he'd put on a brave face.

As she sat facing her upset husband, a mere five weeks into the tour, she couldn't fathom what she had been thinking. She missed them both terribly and her constant busy schedule only made matters worse.

It had all started out well enough. They'd gotten in their nightly Skype sessions, texted throughout the day and spoke whenever she had a free minute. It wasn't the same as being together in person, but it eased the void.

Those free minutes got fewer and far between as the tour rolled on, however, and things had started to go downhill from there. Each new city required more attention, more energy, more time, and Mercedes soon found there weren't enough hours in the day for everything she needed to do.

Before long, she was struggling to stay awake during the Skype sessions that got pushed back later and later after her shows. The texts shifted from exchanging funny anecdotes about Cameron or their day, and flirting between the two of them, to apologies, postponements and promises to call when she had a minute.

Her free time was nearly non-existent, having fallen victim to interviews, press junkets, and local promotional events.

Before Mercedes knew it, she was starting to go entire days without actually speaking to Sam, without seeing her son, and everything seemed to be spiraling beyond her control.

"Sam," she tried again, smiling sadly as she watched him place a raspberry kiss onto their son's head. Cameron giggled at the contact and turned his bright smile up to his father. Sam dropped another kiss to his son's forehead and Cameron squealed, whacking Sam in the head with the doll he was holding.

Mercedes watched them interact, the sad smile still tugging at her lips. She'd never missed them more. She usually enjoyed watching them together, but right then she felt like an outsider. It was heartbreaking.

"Tell your mommy goodnight," Sam said, not looking up at the camera. His tone was a bit curt and Mercedes rolled her eyes in frustration, swallowing back the lump in her throat.

"Bye, Mommy," Cameron said sweetly with a little wave, before turning his attention back to the Captain America figure he held.

"We'll speak to you again…whenever you have time for us?" Sam asked and Mercedes recoiled as if she'd been slapped.

"Sam, that is _not_ fair," she said quietly. "I didn't expect it to be like this. I'm trying."

Sam's jaw tightened as he took in her hurt expression and he lowered his gaze again.

"Don't be mad at me," Mercedes said in the same quiet tone. "It's already bad enough without y'all here with me. I can't take you being mad at me, too."

Sam blew out a breath, his expression a mix of remorse and sadness when he looked back up at her. "I'm not mad," he told her. "I'm sorry I said that. I know it's not your fault. I'm just not used to this. I miss you like crazy."

"I miss you, too," Mercedes in a low whisper. She didn't trust herself to speak any louder, knowing she'd cry if she did.

Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Nikki appeared again. "Mercy, you're supposed to be on right now. Is everything alright?"

"Uh…yeah. Just give me—," Mercedes started to say, but Sam cut her off.

"Just go, babe. Duty calls. Have a great show." She looked up at the camera just in time to see Sam's sad smile as he picked up Cameron's hand and made the baby wave to the camera. Seconds later, he disconnected the call.

Mercedes said nothing as Nikki squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. Taking another moment to collect her thoughts, she plastered a smile on her face and headed for the stage.

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><p><em><strong>36 hours later...<strong>_

Mercedes had had _enough_! She hung up the phone as yet another call went straight to Sam's voicemail, squeezing the life out of her phone with a frustrated growl. 36 hours! It had been 36 hours since she'd last spoken to Sam. 36 hours she'd been left to wonder where the hell he was—not a video chat, not a call, not a fucking reply to a text. She was officially panicking.

She'd even called Mike and Tina. Neither of them had heard from him, which was admittedly strange since the couples lived within minutes of each other. They rarely went any significant amount of time without communicating.

Mercedes was all the way across the ocean and she was losing her mind.

She thought back to their last conversation, trying to piece together what could have happened. If this was some sort of revenge, to get back at her over her busy schedule, she would kill him herself. She wanted to bristle at the thought, but she couldn't believe Sam would do something so childish rather than just talk to her—or fight it out. He wasn't one for the silent treatment and usually confronted things early on. It'd saved them from having too many big blowouts in their relationship.

Mercedes dialed his cell phone again, groaning loudly this time when it went to voicemail again. This time she left a message. It would be a nice addition to the dozen she'd already left.

"Samuel Evans, it's your wife…_again._" Her tone was curt, clearly showing the frustration she felt. "Where the hell are you? This is possibly the 98th time I've called you over the last 36 hours. I'm freaking the hell out here. I need to speak to you and to Cameron. Any reassurance that you're not lying in a ditch somewhere would be nice." Mercedes gasped a little as she spoke the last sentence. She collected herself and finished, "If this is you being mad at me, it's actually pretty cruel, so you should stop. Just leave word with Mike and Tina that the two of you are okay…even if you don't want to talk to me."

Mercedes hung up the call awkwardly, feeling like she couldn't take in a proper breath. She didn't know what to feel. She was frustrated, hurt, terrified, and angry all at once. She had a show to perform that night, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to go on feeling the way she did at the moment.

Her motto had always been the show would go on, even back in the rickety van days, but the show was no longer the dream she lived for. She thought of Cameron, of all that she was missing by being away from him right then. She thought of Sam and the frustration rolling off of him in waves the last time she spoke to him.

In just a few short hours, she would have an arena full of fans waiting to hear her sing. She'd made the commitment to give them that time. She felt ungrateful, but in that moment, she didn't care about them. All she could think about was Sam and Cameron, and the toll this was taking on their little family and it hurt.

In that instant, she didn't care about her career or anything else. She just needed to be home with them—she needed to fix this.

Mercedes marched toward the door of her hotel room, on a mission to find her assistant. The label wasn't going to be happy, but she needed to postpone a few shows. She needed to get back home—then, after she killed her husband for disappearing off the face of this earth with her son, they would come up with a solution to fix this whole mess before she could even think about another 7 weeks on this tour.

The sight that met her when she opened the door had her gasping and stumbling back a few steps, "Oh my God," she yelped, before she got her bearings and ran into the open arms waiting to engulf her.

She was crying hard and she didn't care as she felt Sam's free arm pull her in tighter to his chest. Cameron thrashed about excitedly in his other arm as he tried to get her attention. He threw his arms around her head as he lurched forward.

He'd had a great time with daddy and all, but he'd been wondering where mommy was for a while. He'd seen her on the computer, but he couldn't really understand why she was so small and he could hear her voice but couldn't touch her. The fact that she was back in the flesh was sort of blowing his mind.

All these thoughts flitted through his brain, but all that came out was an endless string of, '_Momma!_' as he desperately tried to attach himself to her. Mercedes cried even harder as she felt her son's hands in her hair and Sam's hand rubbing circles onto her back.

He pulled back a moment later to look at her face, smiling brightly at her as he said, "Surprise?"

Mercedes looked up at him in disbelief, still breathing harshly. This had to be a dream. Sam chuckled at her dazed expression and pressed a soft kiss onto her lips.

"Oh my God. I'm going to kill you," she finally said when she could speak again. She stood upright, swiped at the tears on her face with both hands, and finally took Cameron into her arms, cradling him close. "Hi, baby," she said into his blond curls, followed by a sniffle.

Cameron hadn't stopped his excited babbling yet and continued as he laid his head down on his mother's shoulder. Mercedes couldn't stop another round of tears as the fact that they were here dawned on her again.

"What? I fly all the way to Europe to surprise you and you threaten to kill me?" Sam asked incredulously. "That's not exactly the reaction I was going for. And we were doing so well with the tears and the hugs," Sam said, shaking his head with mock disappointment. "I was hoping some kisses would be next," he informed her.

"You could have answered your phone or told Tina and Mike to cover for you! I have been worried sick. I was about to go home," she told him. She tried to keep up her glare, but _he was there_ and she was holding her son! She was too ridiculously happy and touched he'd done this for her to care that he'd snuck around for 36 hours without calling her. Damn him.

"I hate you," she said, even as she nestled her body against him once more—burying her tear-streaked face into his chest.

"Oh, God," Sam started, rolling his eyes in mock offense. "You're not getting this reunion thing down at all. Here's what happens. I make a grand gesture and surprise you. You freak the hell out. Maybe say something like, 'Oh Sam, you're the most amazing husband I've ever had. I love you _so_ much.' Then you shower me with kisses. Or you could just lead with the kisses—that's always a good start—and we go from there."

Mercedes giggled against him in spite of herself again.

"Shut up, Sam," she said with a contented sigh.

Sam squawked, "_No_, baby. You're not getting this right at—,"

Mercedes had had enough. She silenced him with one of those kisses he kept harping about, pouring over a month's worth of absence, want, and need into it. The kiss was deep but not frantic—their lips and tongues moving slowly against each other, trying to savor the moment.

She pulled out of the kiss with a giggle when she felt Cameron's mouth against her cheek—he wasn't happy being left out of the lovefest, it seemed. She nuzzled her face into his neck, heading toward the hotel's living room.

Mercedes sighed happily as she took a seat, only smiling at her husband as he sat next to her. She leaned back into the couch, letting Cameron stand on her lap. He leaned forward, smiling at her as he framed her face with his little hands.

"How long are you here for?" Mercedes asked, turning to Sam.

"How long is the rest of this tour?" Sam asked with a small smile.

Mercedes looked at him, surprised. "Really?"

"Well," Sam began slowly, "Three months was kind of a tall order. It wasn't working for either of us. I have the time and Cam traveled pretty well. It'll be different than what he's used to, but he's a trooper. If it gets to be too much, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. This way, we can be together more and you can be on tour and no one has to get upset about it."

Mercedes' answering smile was blinding. She ignored Sam's assertion that she was finally getting the hang of this reunion business as she leaned forward, whispering, "I love you," and kissed him.

* * *

><p>Did you like it? <strong>Please review!<strong>


	12. Family Portrait

"Stop it, baby. That's not even playing fair. There are children present," Cameron heard his mother whisper into her headset, in that low tone she always used with his father, right before they traumatized him by making out or scurrying off for 'mom and dad time'.

Cameron wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what that meant.

He watched a salacious smile spread on his mother's face as she listened to whatever his father was saying on the other end. Cameron counted his blessings that he only had to endure one side of this particular conversation. He was entirely certain he didn't want to know what had his mother grinning that way—he could probably guess anyway.

He shuddered and pulled a sickened face, choosing instead to turn his attention to his best friend, who sat next to him in the car. They both chuckled a bit when they saw the identical expressions on one another's faces. Mercedes went on whispering, oblivious to—or probably unconcerned with—their judging.

Between their two families, the boys had been subject to these nauseating displays of love their entire lives. Their parents rarely went a day without scarring their retinas and brains with kissing and flirting. Though the boys had gotten used to seeing and hearing it, they loudly complained about it at every turn.

It changed absolutely nothing. Their parents were in love and not afraid to show it.

So, if they walked in on Mike and Tina making out through a movie in the living room when Cameron was sleeping over at the Changs'—and they had many times—they just had to deal with it.

Likewise, if Mercedes and Sam decided a round of flirty conversation and impish smiling was in order when they were in the room—and they had many times—the boys just had to live with it.

And they had, for all of their 12 years.

Cameron breathed a sigh of relief when the car finally pulled to the curb in front of his and Tyler's friend's house—happy to be getting away from the awkward moments in the car. The car had barely rolled to a stop before the boys were lunging for the nearest exit.

"Baby, hold on," they heard Mercedes say in a normal voice, then her shouted protest of, "Hey, not so fast," stopped the boys dead in their tracks.

They turned back to her, taking in her wide expectant eyes.

"What am I?" Mercedes asked in disbelief. "I know y'all were riding in the back and all, but I'm not some cab driver. Get back over here and say goodbye properly or it'll be $20 for the ride."

The boys gave her sheepish smiles as they headed back towards Mercedes. Cameron stood up behind the driver's seat throwing his arms around his mother—one across her shoulders and one across her pregnant belly. He craned his neck so he could kiss her on the cheek. "Bye, Momma. I love you. See you later." She ruffled his curly hair, and then he got out of the car, heading to the curb to wait on Tyler.

Tyler was next, standing behind her; he placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye, Aunt Mercy. I love you."

When he'd joined Cameron on the curb she leaned toward them, "I love you both. Have fun. Tina's going to be by to pick you up by 5:30."

The boys nodded at her and began to make their way toward the house, not before hearing Mercedes let out a loud burst of laughter and squeal, "Baby! You are messy as hell! I'm on my way back now!"

As soon as the boys turned to wave at her from inside the doorway where they stood with their friend and his parents, Mercedes waved back and took off toward home. The boys sighed in relief—five glorious hours away from their crazy parents.

The boys excitedly greeted their friend, Andrew, with high-fives and politely shook his parents' hands. They'd met them before at their soccer games, as Andrew was their teammate, but they'd only recently gotten to know Andrew personally and this was their first time hanging out with him off the pitch.

Cameron and Tyler noted Andrew's mom and dad weren't the touchy-feely kind. It should have comforted them, but the icy dynamic between the two was odd to the boys. They seemed to be the exact opposite of what Cameron and Tyler were used to.

Where their parents would gaze and smile at each other constantly, Andrew's parents barely made eye contact.

Where their parents always found a reason for affection—a smile, a kiss, a caress, a hug, a squeeze of the hand, whatever it may be—Andrew's parents never got close to one another and their expressions remained polite and curt at all times.

Where their parents would talk all day, every day about anything—this morning having been a clear example, Mercedes hadn't left the house for 20 minutes when that conversation occurred—Andrew's parents seemed perfectly fine ignoring one another's presence.

It was as if they were content to carry on their life around each other in the same space, but not necessarily together.

Though the boys found this strange—they'd had a hushed conversation sharing their concerns as they'd changed for the pool—they decided not to worry about it. Not all families operated like theirs. Maybe this worked for them. Besides, they were excited to hang out with Andrew; they didn't have to hang out with his parents. Andrew was a nice kid—a bit introverted and shy—but, he was cool when you got to know him. They would just focus on that.

Three hours in, everything was going well. The boys had spent some time in the pool, played soccer in the backyard, and eaten snacks. There'd been a lot of laughs along the way, especially when Tyler and Cameron decided to showcase some of the synchronized swimming moves they'd learned from Sam over the years. Andrew doubled over laughing at their antics and even practiced a few moves with them. Coach Roz would be proud to know her techniques were still being passed on years after she'd retired as the Guppies' swim coach.

They'd just gotten a FIFA tournament going on the XBOX when things started to go south.

The boys sat around on some throw pillows in front the television in the den, taunting each other.

"You two sure you want to do this?" Cameron asked cockily. "I mean, I'm gonna whoop your butts anyway. You could just give up now and no one has to be embarrassed."

Tyler side-eyed him while Andrew looked on between the two, clearly amused.

"You realize I just beat you at this game last week?" Tyler asked, his expression the picture of how unimpressed he was with Cameron's swagger.

"You mean when I was sick?" Cameron asked.

"You mean when you lost and started whining about a headache you didn't really have?" Tyler countered.

"Whatever," Cameron said. "That was _last_ week. This week, I am the master and you will bow to my master-ness."

"Master-ness isn't even a word," Tyler said.

"I just made it one, because I'm the master. Keep up," Cameron said spreading his arms and cocking his head at his best friend as if to say, 'Boom! And what?'

Tyler rolled his eyes, about to retort when the sounds of an argument starting upstairs trickled down the stairs and into the living room.

Andrew flushed and looked toward the stairs, not making eye contact with his friends.

The talkative duo sat awkwardly holding their controllers, not sure what to do in this situation. Cameron looked to Tyler who only shrugged back. The boys sat quietly, prepared to wait it out.

Their parents sometimes fought and that usually ended in 'mom and dad time', so maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Cameron clapped Andrew on the shoulder comfortingly and offered the flustered boy a crooked smile.

Cameron began to play with the collar of his shirt, biting his plump lower lip nervously as the arguing got louder. The boys didn't know what had set them off, but both of Andrew's parents were yelling at one another now—their words colorful and well beyond the scope of what Cameron and Tyler had ever heard their parents say to one another.

The pair spewed insults at each other, seemingly forgetting their son and his houseguests. The words were filled with hatred and rage, making Cameron and Tyler more uncomfortable by the second. Andrew raised a hand to rub at his forehead, his face red with humiliation and grief. He made a strangled sound and his friends realized that he'd started to cry as his parents' went on arguing.

"I'm sorry," Andrew whispered raggedly when he felt Cameron's hand on his shoulder again.

Cameron wanted to reassure him that everything would be okay, but he'd never been through anything like this before. He didn't really know what to say. Tyler looked like he was on the verge of tears the longer the fighting went on.

Cameron realized he was going to have to hold it together for the both of them. Tyler always looked to his friend for strength. All "master-ness" from before had already been forgotten. Cameron motioned for Tyler to scoot closer which he did immediately.

"You're okay, dude," he whispered reassuringly to his best friend. "Just take a deep breath."

The boys sat quietly as the arguing got louder and meaner. Then, suddenly Andrew's father was descending the stairs in a huff, his face a clear picture of the ire he felt. He held a suitcase in his hands as he headed for the door, not even sparing a look at his son on the way out.

Andrew's mom was right behind him, now crying as she continued to scream things to her husband's retreating form.

Seeing his parents seemed to spur Andrew into action and he left his friends sitting in the living room as he ran out after his father. The boys could hear him crying and begging his father not to go. His mother was in a similar state, only her words involved calling her husband a coward.

By this time, Tyler had lost his control and he silently cried next to a stricken Cameron. Cameron held on to his friend's hand tightly and prayed just like his mom and dad had taught him—for Andrew and his family, and for Tyler and himself as well. He felt his heart squeeze when he thought of his parents. As eager as he'd been to leave them earlier that afternoon, he wanted nothing more than to be with them right now.

Andrew's cries got louder outside as the boys heard his father's car back out of the driveway. He was literally standing outside screaming after his dad to come back, but it was all to no avail. The sounds of the car grew fainter and fainter until all Cameron and Tyler heard were the sounds of Andrew's crying mixed in with his mother's.

Tyler continued to cry, his head now on Cameron's shoulder, and Cameron sat dazed as he tried to process what had just happened. Their lazy Saturday afternoon had turned tragic in a matter of moments.

He moved to get up and Tyler stood, too, not relinquishing his hold on Cameron's hand. Together the best friends moved toward the front door. They found Andrew coddled into his mother there, and Cameron cleared his throat.

Andrew's mother lifted her head, eyes widening at the sight of them, as if she'd just remembered their presence.

She opened her mouth to say something, but then just offered them an apologetic look. "The phone is in the kitchen," she finally told them. "I think you boys should call home."

Andrew never looked up from his place, sagged against his mother and Cameron bit his lip to keep his emotions at bay as he looked at his friend. He couldn't even imagine what he'd do if either one of his parents ever left. The thought had him biting his lip harder and he turned abruptly toward the kitchen to call his godmother, hoping she could come right away.

Tina was surprised to get their call hours before they were supposed to come home, but she could tell something sounded off by Cameron's quiet, straightforward request to be picked up. The 12 year old usually had no shortage on sass so the fact that he hadn't talked her ear off and requested 'his car' pick him up five minutes ago was cause for alarm.

She got there as fast as she could, bringing Mike along. The pair was bewildered when the boys came running out, not waiting for them to get to the door. Cameron sagged against Tina in a hug, relieved, while Tyler practically tried to climb his confused father. He cried into Mike's shoulder and Mike picked him up, rubbing a hand down his back.

"What's up, Ty?" he asked his brow furrowing in concern. He looked down to Cameron who still had his face buried against Tina. The two of them stared at each other in confusion.

"What happened?" Tina asked concernedly, looking anxiously between the two boys. She ran her hand through Cameron's curls, leaning down to look at his face.

"Can we just go?" Cameron pleaded.

"If you boys promise to fill us in at home, then yeah," Tina said, still hunched over her godson as he clung to her.

At Cameron's nod, Tina ushered Cameron into the car while Mike carried Tyler.

Both boys sat quietly in the backseat as Mike drove toward the Evans abode where both families planned to have dinner together that night.

All Cameron could think about was Andrew's parents yelling at each other like they hated one another. Then, Andrew's cries as his father had simply gotten in a car with his things and drove away. It'd shaken him to the core and he could only think about his mom and dad and how he could never bear to be without either of them.

Tyler apparently had the same thoughts as he draped his arms around Mike from behind his seat, but turned his teary eyes onto his mother. Tina reached a hand out to caress her son's face, holding back tears at seeing him so upset.

As they drove into the gates and pulled up outside the Evans house, Cameron could see his parents outside. His mom held on to a gardening hose, watering her roses—she claimed the activity was soothing—while Sam tossed around a basketball.

He lost control of the ball when Mercedes suddenly directed her aim toward him, causing him to splutter as the unexpected shower washed over him. She giggled but didn't even attempt to run as he stalked toward her. Her seven month pregnant belly wouldn't allow her to get too far anyway.

Sam only shook his head at her and grabbed her face before he kissed her giggling mouth.

Cameron could see him whisper something at her, making her grin wider, before he went in for another kiss.

Normally this was the point he'd be cringing and heading for any other room where they weren't kissing, but right then, it broke the control he'd been keeping since everything had fallen apart at Andrew's.

As soon as the car rolled to a stop, he was out and running toward them, tears spilling unheeded from his eyes. Tina and Mike stayed behind trying to get Tyler to speak.

It was Sam and Mercedes' turn to be confused as their usually happy go lucky 12 year old bawled his eyes out, clinging to his father's waist with one hand and his mother's hand with the other.

They stood this way for a while, trying to calm Cameron down. The couple was even more confused as Mike and Tina approached with a still tearful Tyler clinging to his dad's waist.

It was only when Mercedes' hormone-induced rage kicked in, and she took off for the car, prepared to go straight to Andrew's house and demand to know what had gone down, that the boys finally started talking, explaining the situation.

Their parents listened intently, Mercedes and Tina with tears in their eyes, as the boys relayed how Andrew's parents had fought right before Andrew's father left.

"Well, we're not Andrew's father," Mike said firmly looking between the two troubled boys. "I know he's your friend, but what happened with his family doesn't have anything to do with our family."

"Y'all don't ever have to worry about that. We love you so much," Sam promised, looking directly into Cameron's eyes and then Tyler's. "We would never do that to you, or to your moms. This whole daddy thing is for life. You're stuck with us."

Cameron and Tyler squeezed their fathers tighter, simply comforted by their presence, letting Mike's and Sam's words soothe them.

Later that day when the two boys witnessed yet another kiss between Mike and Tina as they sat chopping salad ingredients for dinner together at the kitchen table, the usual repulsion was replaced with a relieved smile.

And that night, when his parents walked down the hallway to their room after tucking him in, Cameron couldn't help but smile at their flirty bantering, even if he knew it would lead to 'mom and dad time'.

His parents were in love and not afraid to show it. He could live with that. In fact, he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

><p>Did you like it? <strong>Please review!<strong>

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who continues to read and leave reviews and wonderful messages. Every one is an inspiration to continue.


	13. Cauchemar

Sam had never imagined a moment like this would come for them. He'd never imagined an end for them. After everything they'd had to go through to be together—to have the life they had now—he'd thought they'd be one of the couples who beat the odds and stayed together forever.

But as he watched her calmly pack her clothes into the suitcases on their bed, he was fast realizing how wrong he'd been, and it made him sick to his stomach. She couldn't just leave like this.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. They'd put in the effort, paid their dues. This was supposed to be their happily ever after. Sure, they'd hit a rough spot recently with her off on tour and him busy sketching for his next graphic novel, but he never thought it could break them. Nothing ever had before. It'd always been the two of them against everything else.

Not this time, however. This time, she'd come home from tour with divorce papers and a new French man, and it was all happening fast enough to give Sam whiplash.

He watched all of her actions incredulously as she moved about the room, trying to will himself to say something—anything—to fix this, but the only thing that came out was a strangled sound.

It was enough to stop Mercedes in her tracks. She looked over at his astonished expression and smiled sadly as she moved over to him.

"I know this is all seems very sudden, Sam," she said affectionately, bringing both hands up to frame his face. Her familiar touch threatened to break him, and he leaned his face into it despite himself, wishing this moment was anything but what it was. "But, I think we can both agree that we haven't been working out for a while now. Pierre, he gets me."

Sam groaned. The name had brought him right out of his reverie, and he angrily pushed her hands off his face, before taking a step back from her. Fuck Pierre. If he ever came face to face with that wife-stealing asshole, he'd kill him.

Mercedes sighed at his anger, but returned to her packing. "I was hoping you wouldn't be difficult about this," she told him.

"_Difficult_...? Mercedes, honestly, what the fuck is even happening right now?" Sam finally said, feeling panic starting to bubble up inside of him. "I know we've been fighting a lot but, surely this can't be the only option." He wasn't even concerned with the fact that she'd taken up a new relationship while they were still married at the moment. He just wanted to understand how it'd all gone so very wrong.

"It is. These last few months with Pierre have just reawakened a part of me I thought I'd lost," she said.

_What. The. Fuck? _Sam threw up his hands in frustration.

"I'd forgotten what it was to be this…_happy_, Sam! I'll always have a special place in my heart for you, but I've moved on. You need to do the same," she said succinctly, before moving back to the dresser to gather more of her things to put away.

Sam was reeling as he listened to her words. This really was his worst nightmare. He couldn't believe this was happening—and that she'd used the exact same words to break his heart that she'd used all those years ago.

"No. No. You can't do this," he whispered quietly, stopping her from picking up more of her personal effects and holding on to her hand. "Baby, I love you so much. Please, don't do this." He didn't care that he was begging. He needed her and he wouldn't just let her go like this without a fight.

"Sam—," she said, trying to pull her hand away. He could tell he was affecting her, so he held on tighter and tried again.

"We could go to couple's counseling. We could spend more time together. I'll do anything," he told her, full on panicking now as she continued to fight against him.

"No, Sam," she said, finally pulling herself free of his hold. "It's too late. My future is with Pierre, now."

"What about the kids?" Sam asked, angry now. "What the hell do I tell them when they get home from school and expect to find their mother? They're not going to understand this anymore than I do. They'll be crushed."

"Oh, honey," Mercedes said, moving closer to Sam once again. "They already know. They're in the car. They've decided they want to come with Pierre and I."

"What?" Sam said, eyes nearly popping out of his head. "What the _hell_ are you talking about? You can't take my kids, Mercedes. No!"

"Sam—,"

"No, Mercedes. You can't do this!" Sam moved to leave the room. No one was taking his kids anywhere, especially not this douchebag Pierre!

"Sam!"

"No!"

"_SAM!_"

Sam jolted awake, blearily taking in the room around him. He was on his bed, in his room, with his wife hovering anxiously above him.

"Did I faint?" he asked her, still coming out of his nightmare. "You can't take the kids."

"Take the kids—what? Samuel Evans, what the hell? You're scaring the crap out of me. You fell asleep watching TV. I came in here to tell you I was taking the kids to Target to get supplies for Lilly's cooking class and you started screaming," Mercedes told him.

Now that the sleep was starting to fade, he took in the alarmed look on her face and finally noticed their kids peeking out from behind her, looking equally concerned.

"I don't think daddy likes Target," Lilliana quietly provided as an explanation for her father's outburst.

Mercedes and Cameron looked at her and nodded before turning back to Sam.

"I was having a nightmare," he said finally. "Why don't you guys give us a second," he said addressing his kids. "I'm just gonna freshen up a bit and then we'll all go."

Cameron shrugged and grabbed his little sister's hand before starting to leave the room. "Daddy had a bad dream about Target," she told Cameron. "One time I dreamed Toys R Us ran out of toys."

"Maybe he dreamt they ran out of Chapstick," Cameron mock-whispered, turning back to catch his father's responding eye roll, just before he slipped out the door.

Sam slowly sat up straighter in the bed, bringing his back to lean against the headboard. Mercedes stood next to the bed still eyeing him warily.

"If you want to stay here, you can," she told him quietly. "I'll call Mike before I leave, though," she started and Sam shook his head. "You look really shaken up. What were you dreaming about?"

Sam sighed, feeling a bit of a blush creeping up his face. He reached a hand out to her and pulled her in next to him on the bed until she was leaning against his chest. He cradled her closely in his arms and kissed her temple.

"You came home from tour and told me you were leaving me for some French dude named Pierre," Sam mumbled, feeling himself blush harder.

"What?" Mercedes laughed out before completely falling out into a fit of giggles.

"Well, I'm glad you find it so funny," Sam said poking her in the side. "You were completely serious in my dream. You said he reawakened you," he muttered.

"Rea-what?" Mercedes said between her giggles.

"And you were taking the kids," Sam continued with a pout.

"Off to live with Pierre in Paris? I do have to admit it sounds nice," she teased then squealed when Sam pinched her.

"You're not funny. It really upset me," he informed her and Mercedes sighed at pout he was still sporting. She remembered the freaked out look on his face when she'd woken him up. She decided to let the teasing go. She'd file it away until it was a little less fresh in his mind.

"I promise you I'm not going to take the kids and run off to Paris or anywhere else with man named Pierre—or with any other man," she said.

"Good," Sam said, pulling her in closer and lifting her mouth to his. She accepted his kiss, but pulled away before he could get carried away.

"The kids are waiting," she told him. "We gotta get Lilly's stuff."

Sam whined, but gave her one final kiss before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. He would revisit cuddle time later.

* * *

><p>As soon as they got to the store, Mercedes had sat Lilly in the shopping cart and the two had gone off to buy what they needed. She'd given Sam and Cameron the list of a few other knickknacks they needed, telling him they'd rendezvous near the registers in about twenty minutes.<p>

Twenty minutes came and went and Mercedes never saw her husband or her son. Figuring he'd just gotten held up somewhere, she made her way around the store with Lilly chattering excitedly about her new supplies. She really loved her Tiny Tots cooking class.

Mercedes decided to cut through the toy section to get to the grocery section on the other side much quicker. She stopped short at the sight of her husband, who wore a Thor helmet, yelling out, "Arm yourself, brother. We have unfinished business."

With that, he lifted a plastic sword and pointed it at his son…who wore a Loki helmet.

Mercedes tucked in her lips, closed her eyes, and shook her head at the scene before her. _Of course_.

"Thor doesn't even have a sword, dad," Cameron reminded him.

"I'm improvising," Sam said shaking the sword in Cameron's direction again before sending an intense stare his way.

Cameron shrugged then copied his dad's stare. "I am Loki of Asgard," he said deepening his voice. "And I am burdened with glorious purpose." He grabbed the best weapon he could, an empty squirt gun, and aimed at his dad.

Neither of them had noticed Mercedes and Lilly. Lilliana had covered her mouth with her little hands by now to keep the giggles from bursting forth. She looked to her mother's face and laughed more when Mercedes looked back at her and shook her head.

"You think yourself above me?" Sam said, exaggeratedly yelling and pointing at Cameron in a show of emotion that would have put Cooper Anderson to shame.

"Well, yes," Cameron smirked.

"We will end this now!" Sam yelled, still pointing.

"There is no end—there is only war!" Cameron said.

"So be it!" Sam yelled before lifting his sword and running at his son. Cameron lifted the unloaded squirt gun, making laser sounds as his dad advanced.

Mercedes pushed her cart between the two of them, stopping Sam's advance.

"Okay, that's enough," she said. "Y'all are about three seconds from busting up everything in this store. I came here to buy cooking supplies, not the entire toy section."

Sam looked at her sheepishly as he adjusted his helmet.

"The groceries?" Mercedes reminded them, rolling her eyes as Cameron aimed the squirt gun at her arm and continued to make his sounds.

"We were just about to get to them?" he offered, wincing a little when she turned her 'boy, please' eyes to him. Cameron shifted his focus to Lilly, making her giggle as he playfully jabbed at her with the toy.

Mercedes laughed. "Y'all are crazy. Let's go." She didn't even bother to argue when Sam and Cameron followed behind her still sporting their helmets and weapons. The war would go on at home, she was sure.

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><p>The next day, both she and Sam went to drop Lilly off at her cooking class even though Mercedes usually went alone. Sam was still bothered by his dream the day before and had been a little extra hands-on since then, no matter what she said to reassure him. Mercedes didn't really mind and figured he'd settle soon enough. If he needed this for the time being, she'd give him that.<p>

As soon as they walked in the room, Sam set Lilly on her feet . He and Mercedes both smiled as her cooking teacher made her way over to them along with another man neither of them had ever seen before.

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Evans! Hi, Lilly! I wanted to introduce you all to Pierre Moreau." Sam's smile immediately fell, the woman didn't notice as she went on excitedly. "Our theme this week is French cuisine. We're teaching the tots to make crepes with lots of yummy toppings. Mr. Moreau is here to help us. He runs a similar program in Paris."

Sam looked to Mercedes who was struggling to keep her giggles silent. She had to practically pry Sam's hand from Lilly's so he'd let his daughter go into her class, but as soon as they were out of the building she fell apart.

Sam wasn't so amused. He had his eye on Pierre. If he even thought of becoming a family-stealing asshole, he'd just knock him out. That plastic sword he'd purchased the day before might even come in handy.

Mercedes pulled her phone out to share her amusement with Tina as they made their way to the car. Sam walked alongside of her, holding her hand tightly, and muttering his plans to himself.

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><p><strong>AN:** Did I get you? Sorry! I am! LOL. I had so much fun with this update, it's crazy.

The Target part of this fic was a prompt from **box5angel** who wanted to see a scene like this at Target based on that picture Chord tweeted of himself in the Thor helmet with a sword. So, I hope she likes it.

The other stuff—I just felt like trolling. LOL. Cauchemar means 'nightmare' in French, by the way. In case you wondered.** Leave me a review, even if you just wanna yell at me. :)**


	14. Hooded Intruder

_**A/N:** This was inspired by Chord Overstreet's tweet about **the fancy. com**. I wrote it up in like 20 minutes so forgive any errors. I posted it on my tumblr, then I realized that some people probably aren't on tumblr and decided to make it available here, too. It is the Little Wonders universe, after all. Enjoy! :)_

—

Mercedes quickly ran through her list of errands for the day as she wrapped a fluffy towel around her body and prepared to step into the bedroom. Her shower had been the rejuvenating kind—she kind of wished she could just sink into her mattress and go back to sleep, but the work of a mother, wife, and world-renowned diva was never done.

She opened the bathroom door and was about to step into the room when she saw a hooded figure running into the room. The piercing scream she let out stopped him dead in his tracks, and she kept screaming as she picked up everything within reach to throw at him.

The intruder dodged and weaved the flying items—shoes, pillows, magazines. He was trying to say something to her but, Mercedes wasn't about to stop her actions to listen.

Her eyes widened as Cameron and Lilliana showed up at the door. Her first instinct was always to protect them.

"Run! Call the police! I'll be fine! Go ahead! Run!" Mercedes called to them, still picking up more things to throw—lotions, combs, purses.

She was frustrated as her kids continued to stand there and—_were they laughing_?

"I said RUN! GO!" Mercedes called to them again.

The intruder moved closer to her and Mercedes prepared, this was it. It didn't seem like he had a gun. He'd have probably used it already, right? He was tall, but she could take him.

He was about Sam's height, Sam's build, he was even wearing the same jeans and shoes Sam had been this morning…

Mercedes stopped, finally quieting her screams, and cocked her head to the side, a picture frame in her hand poised to be thrown.

"Sam?" she asked in disbelief.

Sam pulled the hoodie off his head and blew out a relieved breath that the items had finally stopped flying at his head.

"Samuel Evans!" Mercedes asked, ignoring her two children bent over in the doorway who were crying under the weight of their laughter. "Boy! What the hell were you wearing on your head?"

"It's a Knight's Armor hoodie, 'Cede," Sam said offering her a small sheepish smile. "I was on this cool site a couple of weeks ago and they have all this stuff." The excitement creeped into his voice as he spoke. "I was coming in here to show you, and then you started throwing stuff."

"You scared me half to death! I thought someone broke in here!" Mercedes said, still feeling the effects of her scare. She pulled her towel tighter and tried to get her breathing in order.

He only stared back at her, flashing her another sheepish smile. "Sorry," he said wincing. "I didn't think about what it would look like. I just wanted you to see it."

Despite herself, Mercedes shook her head and laughed at him as she headed into her closet to get dressed. She could hear her kids ribbing Sam and reliving the events of the last few minutes as they kept laughing.

"Mom almost killed you," she heard Lilliana say through her giggles.

"She was sizing you up. You were gonna get it," she heard Cameron say. Sam laughed right along with them.

"Let's go look at the other stuff we got," he told them, but before he could step foot outside the room, Mercedes poked her head back in.

"Hey, no! Get back in here! You're gonna help me clean up this room," Mercedes said. The kids laughed harder but, took off down the hall so they wouldn't get roped into it.

"You don't get to complain," Mercedes told him as he pouted. "If you hadn't stormed in here like some crazed hooded robber, I wouldn't have had to throw anything."

Sam conceded her point with a nod and went to work, but not before pulling his hoodie back onto his face and asking, "But admit it. It's cool, right?"

Mercedes only rolled her eyes and went back to getting dressed.

"Right?" she heard him ask again. "'Cede? Right?"

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><p>I went on the website, saw the Knight's Armor hoodie and was convinced Chord owned it. Then I got to thinking about Sam owning it and this happened. Hope you enjoyed! <strong>Leave me a review if you did! <strong>Love to read them. They make my day! :)


	15. Reunited

**A/N:** I had sort of a stressful day with real life stuff, so I wrote myself some fluff. Then I decided to share. Enjoy! :)

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><p>"<em>He's here<em>!" Lilliana squealed excitedly—jumping up and down, unable to contain her joy—as she watched Mike's car entering the gates through their security monitor.

Her words set off a flurry of motion as Mercedes abandoned her last minute cake decorations in the dining room, looking around to make sure everything was perfect, before ducking behind the couch in the living room.

Cameron joined her seconds later, after practically flying to the wall to turn out the lights in the house, leaving only the ones on the porch on.

"_Hey_!" Lilly hissed out. The six-year old had been so wrapped up in watching the progression of Mike's car up the drive, that she'd forgotten to hide—and now she couldn't see a thing. Cameron chuckled at her plight, but popped back up to grab her just as they could hear the car pull up outside.

At the sound of Sam's voice outside thanking Mike for picking him up and for helping with the bags, Lilliana let out a muted squeal of, "_Daddy_!" and Mercedes smiled as she covered the elated girl's mouth with her hand.

"Sweetheart, I know you're excited, but we have to be quiet. He'll hear you," Mercedes whispered.

She felt Lilly nod against her and released her daughter's face.

Truth be told, she couldn't blame Lilly at all. Sam had been gone a little over two months for work and they had all missed him more than they could say. They did everything they could to stay connected with him, but nothing beat having him there with them every day.

Lilliana missed how he would tuck her into bed at night after singing her a song or reading her a book. She missed their bike rides around their neighborhood when she got home from school. She missed helping him cook their meals and how he always made time in his day to play with her even when he was busy. She missed falling asleep in his lap and how safe she felt wrapped up in his arms.

Cameron missed watching the games or movies with him, how they could always goof around trading impressions and awful jokes. He missed playing the guitar with him. They'd even formed a two-man jam band named _Scam_ where they'd both pretend to be the next Van Halen. He missed the comfort of his dad's presence, how he could always talk to him about anything.

Mercedes missed falling asleep and waking up in his arms. She missed his scent and his touch, his lips and his crooked smile, his hugs and his kisses. She missed how complete she felt when he was around.

_But he was back_ and they didn't have to miss him anymore!

It was enough to make them all squeal with joy, so no one blamed Lilliana for her outburst.

* * *

><p>After enjoying the worldwide success of his graphic novels, Sony Pictures had contacted Sam expressing interest in turning the novels into a major motion picture. Sam was interested as well, but the only way he'd let his babies off the page was if he had complete control over their portrayal. He wasn't willing to let anyone destroy his work for the sake of making a buck. The studio had ultimately agreed, and Sam had needed to set off to start working on the project immediately.<p>

Sam knew his time away was important and would do big things for his career, but damn if he hadn't missed his family terribly the entire time. It was crazy how unsettled he felt without them. Even with all their efforts to stay connected, it just wasn't the same without sharing the same physical space.

The space around him as he worked on scripts and story boards was just too quiet without Cameron yelling into his headset as he taunted his friends over a video game in the background.

He missed Lilliana popping into his office whenever she pleased, crawling into his lap, and marveling over his work.

He couldn't crawl into bed with his wife after the stressful days and forget about everything.

Sam would never complain about his life, he was truly blessed to even have the opportunities he did, but he loved his family and he was ecstatic to be coming home to them.

Or so he _thought_ he would be coming home to them.

Though he was happy to see his best friend, who he'd missed as well, both Mercedes and Cameron had his flight information, so he'd been more than a little disappointed when neither one had showed up at the airport. He had nearly walked straight passed Mike as he'd been so intently searching for his wife and their kids.

He understood that everyone was busy, but he was hoping his coming home after more than two months away would constitute a special occasion. He had to admit his feelings were hurt when he called them on the way home with Mike and received no answer.

His feelings were only more hurt when he came home to a seemingly empty house. He didn't see Mercedes' car or Cameron's in their driveway, and all of the lights were off as he stepped into the house.

The whole flight home, he'd imagined the reunion—happy faces, hugs and kisses, maybe a few tears. Instead he got voicemail and solitude. It was depressing.

* * *

><p>Mercedes gently put her hand back over Lilly's mouth as Sam made his way inside and called out their names to ensure they weren't home. The girl was practically shaking with excitement, threatening to take over her little body and have her hurtling herself at her father any second.<p>

Mercedes' heart broke a little when she heard Sam sigh after he called out their names and received no answer. They heard his suitcases hit the floor and then the light in the living came on. She and the kids looked at each other with amused wide eyes, huddling in even tighter in case he could somehow feel them in the room.

It seemed he couldn't, because he flopped dejectedly onto the couch with another sigh and murmured, "Welcome home," a bit sadly to himself. They heard him scrolling through his phone and Mercedes was infinitely glad she'd remembered to put hers on silent as she felt hers ringing in her pocket a few seconds later.

They all waited as it rang and Sam started to leave a message. "Uh, babe it's me. I'm home, _yaaaay_." His tone said anything but yay, and Mercedes and the kids struggled to keep from laughing. "Could you call me back? Or just come home—with the kids? I miss y'all."

Sam ended his call with another sigh and let his phone clatter onto the coffee table next to him. Mercedes and Cameron looked at each other, rolling their eyes at Sam's melodramatics, and Mercedes nodded to Cameron then to Lilliana.

Seconds later the three of them were jumping up from behind the couch yelling out surprise and welcome home wishes in the process. Sam was startled beyond belief and put his hands over his heart as he sat up and tried to process what was happening.

One minute he'd been wallowing in his sorrows, unable to believe his family had _abandoned_ him, and the next he was feeling too many emotions at once to know what to do with himself.

"Y'all are so mean!" he exclaimed. "My feelings were really hurt. I thought you forgot about me!" He stood up with the biggest grin on his face, and looked at Lilly.

Mercedes laughed as Lilly, who just couldn't take it anymore, finally launched herself into her father's waiting arms and wrapped her little arms tightly around him. Sam's arms squeezed her tightly as he told her how much he'd missed her. He gave his daughter a kiss on her cheek, rubbing her back when he felt her sniffle against him.

Soon he reached for Cameron, hugging him, despite Lilly still being attached to him with no signs of letting go. Mercedes stood back, just taking them in. She'd never get tired of watching her family interact.

"I have you to thank for this master plan, don't I?" Sam asked Cameron. Cameron scoffed his affront at being accused.

"I think I'm offended y'all think I'm in charge of every scheme," Cameron said, but made no moves to distance himself from Sam, still hugging him.

"You are," Sam said, thinking back to some of Cameron's best—the powder in the blow dryer that'd almost caught him and Tyler a whooping for messing with his mother's weave, the time he'd renamed all of the folders on Sam's computer making it impossible for Sam to find anything, or when he'd loaded Lilly's toothbrush with salt one random April Fool's Day—that _had_ caught him a whooping. Lilliana didn't play.

"Not this time," Cameron retorted. "This was all mom," he said pointing at her.

Mercedes gasped and poked her son in the side. "Thanks a lot! Last time I scheme with _you_!" Cameron only chuckled.

"You did this?" Sam asked, mock-affronted.

"I also made you cake," Mercedes informed him, deflecting like a champ.

His eyes lit up, letting Mercedes know it'd worked like a charm.

Cameron made room in the huddle for his mother and didn't even cringe when his dad whispered, "I missed you," seconds before kissing his mom.

If he was telling the truth, he'd missed seeing his parents as happy as they were now. If their lips had to be touching to keep that going, he'd allow it—for a moment.

Only a moment, though.

When he'd decided it was enough, he eyed Lilly who'd finally lifted her head off Sam's shoulder. She looked at her brother giggling, but nodded her understanding. On Cameron's silent finger-count of three, the two of them puckered their lips. Lilly kissed Sam on the cheek, while Cameron kissed Mercedes' cheek.

The kissing couple was forced out of their embrace by the laughter that bubbled out of them.

"This is a family friendly hug," Cameron informed them. "I'm like three inches away from your faces, it's creepy."

Sam and Mercedes only laughed and started walking to the dining room to start the celebrations.

* * *

><p>Mercedes wondered where everyone had gone to. After the festivities, eating dinner with the family finally back together, and catching up, she'd stayed behind with Cameron to clean the dishes while Sam went upstairs with Lilly who still refused to let him go.<p>

Cameron had gone up a little while ago, while Mercedes put the dishes and utensils away.

Cameron's room was usually like a house of noise with the sounds of music, video games, or his voice pouring out into the entire house from there.

Lilliana wasn't far behind with the constant sounds of chatter and play that poured out of her room.

And now that Sam was home, she was sure his guitar playing and movie soundtracks would fill up the h ouse once more..

It'd been a little while, though, and the house was still.

Stacking the last dish, Mercedes went upstairs to find Sam. They were _long_ overdue for some cuddles.

Her heart melted when she entered their bedroom to find him sleeping flat on his back with Lilly draped across his torso, also fast asleep. Cameron lay next to his father, his back pressed into Sam's side, using Sam's arm as a pillow.

It seemed she wasn't the only one who'd missed those cuddles.

Cameron wasn't asleep and smiled at his mom as she stepped further into the room.

Mercedes climbed on Sam's other side, tucking herself against him, using his other arm as her pillow. She threw her right leg over both of his and her right arm draped across Lilly's back, her hand finally resting on Cameron's chest.

She smiled when she felt Cam's hand come up to squeeze hers.

They were all going to wake up uncomfortable in the next few hours, but for now it was the closeness they needed.

It was perfect.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Please review! They make my day! :)<strong>


	16. The Hat

_**A/N:** Wrote this cavity inducing fic up very quickly for my twinnie, **keeponsmilingg**, who wanted a fic about a hat. LOL. At least I think she did. I did my best. Forgive any errors. Enjoy! It comes directly after **Chapter 1: Walking On Eggshells** timeline-wise. It was on my tumblr, so people may have already seen it, but since it's part of the LW verse, I decided to archive it here. Plus, I realize that not everyone has tumblr and sees these random posts. Anyway, I'm shutting up now. On to the drabble._

* * *

><p>Sam sighed contentedly as he walked into the living room. With a cold beer in hand, he was ready to enjoy an afternoon of relaxation in front of the television, catching up with all of the shows he'd missed the last couple of days.<p>

After that final unpainted wall in Cameron's nursery had wrought an afternoon of tears—only made worse by Mike and Tina's 'chicken nugget incident'—Sam had finally just stopped putting off the project and painted it. Now whenever Cameron got around to being born, his room wouldn't be ugly. He'd be happy and so would his mother, which meant Sam would be happy.

There'd be no more tear—_shit!_

Sam almost doubled back when he walked into the living room and saw that he'd thought it too soon. Mercedes sat on the couch—a mess of yarn surrounding her—holding on to a floppy…_something_ in her hands and bawling her eyes out.

He almost backed out, but dammit, he couldn't stand her tears so he moved forward instead, setting his beer down on the coffee table, before squatting before her.

He placed both of his hand on her knees and watched as she sniffled before setting the floppy…_something_ down on her protruding belly.

"What's wrong, baby?" Sam asked, sighing slightly as he reached out to wipe the tear tracks marring her eyes away.

This only made her cry harder and she picked up the floppy…_something_ and thrust it at him as if it explained everything. When Sam's only response was a blank stare, she finally spoke.

"I can't knit!" she told him.

Sam blinked. "_Okay_," he said slowly, not wanting to say the wrong thing and set her off even more.

"I was trying to make Cameron a hat for when he's finally here to keep his head warm—and I suck! Look at this…this _thing_!" she said angrily. Tears brimmed her eyes again.

"No, you don't," Sam consoled, resisting the urge to laugh. That would only land him a permanent bed on the couch. "It's just a little big but it's not bad at all. In fact…," he trailed off as he picked up the floppy something—now identified as a hat—and stuffed it onto his head.

"See?" he asked, offering her a big grin. "It's like a beanie. You know I love those. You don't suck, it's perfect!"

Mercedes gave him a dubious look, but he only smiled wider, adjusting his floppy hat over his blond hair.

"All you gotta do is adjust your measurements a bit. It's your first one. Don't be so hard on yourself. I know you're gonna get it right. You're my Wonder Woman, you always do! Cam's gonna be so lucky to have a momma that makes him hats as cool as mine."

With that he kissed her lips, glad to see the tears had dried up.

"You really like it?" she asked quietly. He could hear the hopeful lilt in her voice.

"Of course I do. It's great," Sam said, getting up to sit next to her. She stared at him for a moment, a small smile finally gracing her features.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief, turning the television on, as her mood picked up and she quietly went back to measuring out another hat for Cameron, tear free.

His hat was a bit too small for his head, but he'd never tell her that. He wore it all day, delighting in her smile every time she looked at him.

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><p><strong>Did you like it? Please review.<strong>

By the way, I'm always open to prompts and suggestions for this series. I can't promise I'll write everything, or that I'll always be able to deliver it quickly, but if I figure out how to write it, I will try.


	17. Mancation

**A/N:** I wrote this from a prompt from **amuzed1** a really long time ago and then forgot about it. It's been sitting on my computer forever so, here it is. I hope y'all enjoy.

Also,** I just decided to do two updates at once, so make sure you check out Chapter 16 in case you hadn't see that one.**

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><p>It had been three days—<em>three entire days<em>—of this 'I love you' and 'I miss you' crap at every turn and Puck couldn't take _any more_! He was _this_close to shipping Sam, Mike, and their ovaries right back to their families so he could _finally_ enjoy his vacation.

Puck rolled his eyes and fought the urge to bang his head against the wall as he watched Sam and Mike in the middle of yet another Skype session with their wives and kids. The entire point of this _man_cation was to be free of the ball and chain, but Sam and Mike seemed to enjoy lugging theirs around.

It was ridiculous.

It'd started the second they stepped foot on the plane—not two hours after the boys had left home. Puck cursed himself for not seeing it then.

The air hostess served them a continental breakfast that included a banana nut muffin. Mike picked it up, his expression tinged with sadness.

"What?" Puck asked, staring blankly at his friend. He wished they'd served waffles instead, but he wasn't about to cry about it. "You want mine? It's chocolate chip," he offered.

"No," Mike said, sighing a bit sadly. "It's just, Tyler loves these." He sighed again, before setting the muffin down, and Sam looked on at his best friend understandingly. He patted Mike's shoulder, telling him they'd be able to FaceTime at the hotel when they landed and that seemed to lift Mike's spirit.

Puck looked between the two and blinked. He was speechless. They _had_ to be kidding.

Oh, but they hadn't been.

As soon as they got to the hotel, Sam and Mike had instantly set up FaceTime on the iPad and given their families the grand tour of the hotel room. Everything from the bedrooms, to the view, to the hall outside the room had been on display. What happened in Vegas _definitely_ wasn't staying in Vegas.

This had continued throughout the day. When Puck finally managed to get his friends off the iPad to venture around town, it'd been more of the same.

They walked into a restaurant for lunch. Puck just wanted to enjoy a top notch meal with his friends and shoot the breeze. Sam had other ideas and immediately started in on '_Oh, Mercedes would love it here._' Before long, he was snapping pictures of everything around them and texting them to her—his food, his drink, even the damn silverware.

At Cirque du Soleil, Puck just wanted to watch the circus freaks do awesome shit. "Lilly would have loved this," Sam said on a sigh. Puck turned to glare at his friend, but Sam's eyes were trained to the show, with a bittersweet smile crooked across his lips.

Puck turned his disbelieving gaze to Mike for support, but Mike was looking at Sam compassionately. "I think they were selling DVDs out front before we came in," he told Sam.

Sam's expression brightened considerably. "Really?" Sam asked cheerfully. Mike nodded with a smile. "I'm going to buy her a copy. She's going to love it."

Puck looked on disbelievingly as Sam excitedly pulled out his phone and texted Mercedes yet again. Apparently the news of his impending purchase couldn't wait.

Next had been the UFC show—_a fucking UFC show_! Puck just wanted to watch these badass dudes attempt to beat the life out of each other while he cheered them on. It'd started out well as they waited for the fight to start. All three of them went on about previous fights between the two opponents.

Puck was ecstatic, but he'd celebrated a bit too soon. Mike just happened to mention how they'd seen one of the fighters at a venue back home with Tyler and Cameron and that was it. The two managed to turn a fucking UFC fight into a sappy family moment. After moping about missing their sons for a few moments, the two texted Tyler and Cameron throughout the whole fight, promising them an epic boys' weekend pretty soon.

Three days—_three entire fucking days_.

Puck huffed into the room where his friends sat in front of Sam's laptop and fought the urge to roll his eyes. He'd been giving them '5 more minutes' for the last half hour.

"All right, Lilly, your turn! Aunt Tina and I are gonna go downstairs. Ty and Cam are across the hall when you're ready to turn off the computer, alright? Tell your daddy and Uncle Mike goodnight," Puck heard Mercedes say, shortly before Lilly's sweet voice filled the room.

"Goodnight, Uncle Mike! Bye, Daddy!" she said. "I love you and I miss you and have sweet dreams and don't let the bugs bite…and say your prayers," Lilliana said all in one breath.

Puck let out a laugh and shook his head at the hopelessly enamored expressions on his friends' faces as they regarded the little girl. There were three more days of this trip. What had he gotten himself into?

"Is that Uncle Puck?" Lilliana asked and Sam beckoned Puck over, silencing his laughter for the time being.

"Hi, Uncle Puck," Lilliana said excitedly when she saw him. She offered him her brightest grin, baring all of her little teeth at him.

"Hi Miss Lilly," he said offering her a small smile.

Lilliana's big brown doe eyes crinkled as her laugh tinkered from the speakers. "You still have funny hair," she said.

She'd always liked Puck since she met him. She'd climbed up next to him on the couch and giggled, before tugging at his mohawk.

* * *

><p>Sam let Puck pull the laptop onto his lap as he continued talking to Lilly, while he and Mike headed in to change for their night out. He felt bad for stalling Puck's evening, but he wouldn't feel right without having wished his wife and kids a goodnight.<p>

As excited as he'd been for this trip and as much fun as he was having with his friends, he had a hard time being away from his family like this. It was hard for him to just let go of their nightly routines, and to just be out of their day to day lives, even if just for a little while.

He couldn't help thinking and wondering about them—wanting to share his experiences with them. He'd been doing it any time anything minor or major happened in his life for the last 24 years. It was just a part of who he was. They came first in everything.

He knew Mike understood that—and Puck would pull through.

Sam changed out of his Captain America t-shirt in favor of a plain white one. The dark jeans and sneakers he was wearing suited just fine, so he pulled on a leather jacket, fussing with his hair a little, before heading back out to the living room. Mike was finished as well, and the two moved toward the living room to deliver the good news to Puck.

To Sam's surprise, Puck was still involved in an animated discussion with Lilly. The six-year old was regaling Puck with a story about the Pokemon episode she'd been watching that afternoon and Puck was listening intently to every word, offering his opinions here and there.

Puck did an impression of Psyduck for Lilly when she started talking about it and the little girl giggled loudly, throwing her head back, looking just like her mother. Her little hand came up to cover her mouth.

"Puck, we're ready," Sam said walking to the back of the couch and smiling at his still giggling daughter.

"Five more minutes," Puck said.

Sam shot Mike a knowing glance, but said nothing else to Puck. The two sat down to watch some television while Puck finished up his conversation.

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><p><strong>AN:** Oh, Puck lol.** Did you like it? Please review!**


	18. Little Sister

There were few things that Cameron hated worse than seeing his sister cry—and it was downright unbearable when _he_ was the cause. He really hadn't meant to completely lose his cool, but what she'd done was a _major offense_! It just wasn't okay.

They'd long ago established that his little sister, cute as she was, had a bit of a curiosity issue. This led to her inclination to touch things that intrigued her, and Cameron's room had proven to be her personal wonder emporium—which often got her into trouble with her big brother.

She'd taken his Captain America 'action figure' the year before—a stuffed toy Cameron had been given as a baby by his dad—and resolved to make it her baby doll. It would have been fine, but Cameron was upset when he found the toy—that he'd managed to maintain in decent condition all these years later—stained with milk and dried fruit mash. He also didn't appreciate seeing his hero with a washcloth wrapped around it like a diaper. Sam and Cam had sat with Lilly for a good twenty minutes—while Mercedes looked on shaking her head—explaining that this was not just a toy and certainly not a baby doll to the oblivious three year old.

She'd ultimately apologized, but it hadn't kept her out of Cameron's room.

Her next great offense came to a head earlier that year, when Cameron walked into his room after school, headed right over to the tank which housed his pet turtle, Raphael—which he'd later found out was a girl, but that was another story. He'd immediately panicked, thinking that she'd somehow escaped, and had torn his room apart looking for her—to no avail.

It wasn't until he'd stood up, staring out the window trying to rein in his emotions, that he'd noticed Lilly outside in the backyard talking to something he couldn't see properly in the grass. He'd immediately gone out to investigate and had shaken his head at the sight of his sister, with one of her hair ribbons tied around Raphael, attempting to walk the very confused animal.

This time it'd been Mercedes and Cameron to sit her down and explain the very specific conditions that Raphael required to stay healthy. Again, she'd apologized, but she _clearly_ hadn't gotten the message, having committed her worst offense just that day.

She'd come in to his room while he was in a state of half-sleep and everything almost happened in slow motion. He'd heard her tinkering around and managed to open his eyes a bit. He saw her standing there with a doll in her hand, in her ballet uniform that she'd refused to take off after coming home from her class—insisting that she loved 'ballet-ing' and proceeding to ballet around the house all afternoon.

He'd also kind of heard her speaking, and while he loved talking to her, he just wasn't in the right state of mind for conversation at the moment. Thus he'd offered a well-timed, impossibly sleepy 'mhmm' to all of her chatter, never guessing what a fatal mistake that was.

It wasn't until the third snip sound that he jolted from the bed screaming and startling the four-year old—who stood before him with three clumps of his blond curls in her hand. From there, it'd been pure chaos. He'd been incensed, yelling at her while she stood there with her big doe eyes even wider with shock and contrition. As mad as he was, he cringed as he thought about the way her eyes had instantly filled with tears when he asked her if she was stupid and told her she was a pest. She'd looked at him, absolutely crestfallen, and run from his room.

He could still hear her sobs from down the hall in their parents' room, as they tried desperately to figure out what was wrong, and it broke his heart. He looked at his hair in the mirror—the damage wasn't really that noticeable. He shook his head before leaving the room, thinking it was a lucky thing she was impossibly cute. He just couldn't stay mad at her.

Cameron walked into his parents' room and the second Lilly saw him, she managed to wail even louder. Her face scrunched up adorably, her bottom lip poked out, as a steady stream of tears ran down her face. Mercedes looked between the two, confused, while Sam hadn't even noticed his entrance and looked downright distraught at the sight of his little girl in such a state.

Mercedes was the one to bring them out of their standstill, asking, "What happened?" At that, Sam finally turned to notice Cameron in the room and trained his attention on his son as well.

Cameron held up the severed clumps of his hair, that Lilliana had dropped on her way out, as an explanation. Both Sam's and Mercedes' mouth dropped comically and they goggled for a few second before both of their heads simultaneously whipped around to Lilliana, who was still weeping hysterically.

"Lilly," Mercedes prompted sternly.

"He said I could," she answered miserably.

"I was asleep!" Cameron protested. Sam raised a hand to stop things from escalating.

"Lilliana, why would you want to cut your brother's hair?" Sam asked, bringing his fingers up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He was feeling too many things at the moment, and it was all too much for him.

The little girl managed to bring her tears down long enough to stutter through an emotional explanation, "M-m-mommy bought me a K-ken doll last week," she started, taking a hug shuddering breath, while Sam glowered—he hadn't approved of that purchase."A-a-and I named him C-c-cameron because daddy said h-h-he was Lilly doll's n-nice brother. But his hair was too short," she said falling into sobs again.

And it was all understood. Lilliana had misguidedly cut Cameron's hair so she could glue it onto her Cameron doll and make it look like his namesake. Cameron wasn't sure which one of them started laughing first, but soon he ended up face first in his mom and dad's pillow as his body shook with tear-inducing laughter. He could hear his mom and dad at the foot of the bed struggling and failing to contain their mirth.

"Oh my goodness. _Your_ daughter, Sam," Mercedes said through a giggle she couldn't stop.

"_My_ daughter?" Sam protested, still laughing. "_Your _daughter!"

Cameron thought he'd gotten it under control, but one look at Lilliana's little confused face as everyone went on laughing had him losing it again. God, his little sister had chopped off his hair, which he'd never cut in his life, and he was just sitting there laughing. He looked back over, chuckling at the pout on her face. She was clearly confused and put out by what was happening. When she caught Cameron's gaze, the pout immediately turned to complete despair and she hung her head.

Cameron's laughter ceased and he immediately reached for his sister, sighing when she tensed and pushed away from him. Sam and Mercedes looked on, but said nothing, choosing to let them resolve their own issues between them.

"I'm sorry I called you stupid, Lilly," Cameron said and didn't dare look over at his parents. "I didn't mean it. I was just angry and it came out. You should never have cut my hair, and you should absolutely _never_ do it again, but you're not stupid. You're the coolest little sister in the world, and your reasons _were_ very sweet even if you were also very, very, very, very, very—,"

"I think she gets it, Cameron," Mercedes cut in.

"…_very_ wrong," Cameron finished, ignoring his mother's eye roll.

"I'm sorry, too," Lilliana mumbled, finally looking up at him. "I should have waited until you were awake."

"Yes, that, too," Cameron nodded. "Asking me questions when I'm awake will save us a lot of trouble from here on out."

"Okay," Lilly said, still with a bit of a frown. It vanished when Cameron grabbed her by the middle and brought her up for a loud smacking kiss to her cheek while he squeezed the life out of her. She giggled, trying to move away from him.

Sam and Mercedes shook their heads, getting up from their positions and going back to the work they'd been engaged in before Lilliana came in screaming. They both shot each other a delighted smile when they heard Cameron say, "I love you, Lillybean," and were over the moon with Lilliana's answered, "Love you, too, Cammy."

But they were all back to hysterical laughter when Lilly pulled back from Cameron's embrace and asked in all seriousness, "Can I keep what I cut?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** LOL, Lilly. Started thinking parts of this up a few months ago just joking around with **keeponsmilingg**, and then last night it just came together with the word 'ballet-ing'. My brain is strange. Lol. I hope you enjoyed it. **Please leave me a review if you did. They're always nice to read.**


	19. Blame It On The Alcohol

"Love you, baby! Bye!"

Sam looked up from his sketches just in time to see his wife go running past him in a burst of colorful fabric, shiny jewelry, and wavy hair.

He called out her name in protest just as she was about to head out of the bedroom door. She stopped short and changed directions so fast she had to lean on the door to fight the whiplash. She stood in the doorway, watching him expectantly, a small smile gracing her face.

"What? Just like that?" he asked her. "No goodbye kiss? Nothing? I don't even get to see the outfit I helped pick out?" She'd been running around for the last two hours, driving him crazy with dress options.

It'd been a torturous cycle of watching her walk into the room, looking simply delectable in dress after dress, that hugged every curve he loved, and then watching her rip them off—revealing inches upon inches of skin that he craved to touch—only to come back with the next dress.

Now she was trying to leave the house without so much as a brush of her lips against his to tide him over until her return. That just wouldn't do.

In an instant Mercedes was in front of him, clad in a sexy black and red cocktail dress—that left him fighting a strong urge to take it off of her and keep her in bed. She gave him a soft peck on the lips, but, as soon as he tried to deepen it, she backed away slightly.

"I'm late. I'm sorry," she said, smiling apologetically at his pout. "Later, baby. I promise," she whispered at him, laughing at his groan. He nuzzled his nose into her neck and breathed her in. She knew the perfume she wore was his favorite. She pulled away completely shortly after, squeezing his hand, before she headed back toward the door.

"You look amazing by the way," he called to her just before she was out of sight. "Just you wait until you get home tonight. I'm gonna rock your entire world."

He heard her giggle as she went down the stairs. "Behave yourself," she called. "There are children in the house."

"They know how they got here," Sam called back.

"Immaculate conception. That's my story. I'm sticking to it," Cameron called from downstairs where Mercedes was saying goodbye to him and Lilliana for the evening.

Sam's answering chuckles got louder when he heard Mercedes' burst of laughter at the bottom of the stairs.

At Lilliana's quiet inquiry of, "How?", everyone's laughter but Cameron's stopped, and Mercedes quickly ran out the door leaving Sam to deal with that.

* * *

><p>As soon as he heard the car coming up the drive, Sam jumped off of the couch where he'd been idly watching television after he'd finished his work. He'd thankfully been able to ward off Lilliana's questions with a coloring book. That was a conversation that definitely needed Mercedes. There was no telling how badly he'd scar her trying to explain things on his own. Mercedes still felt awkward about cucumbers so he knew it was a subject to be broached delicately. He pushed that thought entirely out of his mind as he headed toward the door, however. He'd worry about it later. Tonight, he had plans.<p>

He hadn't been even remotely kidding about wanting to ravish his wife the second she got home. That dress she'd worn out that night had looked too right, and she should have considered herself lucky to have been allowed to leave for her event at all.

He rushed down the stairs, thanking God that Mike and Tina had taken the kids for the night. An empty house and his sexy wife—Sam almost couldn't believe his good fortune. He practically cheered. In fact, he _did_ cheer, but no one was around to hear him, so he'd just pretend it hadn't happened.

He heard Mercedes struggling with her key in the lock outside and impatiently whipped open the door, beaming from ear to ear. He'd briefly toyed with the idea of a sexy—borderline cheesy, really—one-liner, but he was glad he'd abandoned the thought. His smile instantly dropped at the site of her, flanked by her publicist and Kurt, who had attended the event with her that night.

"We are so sorry," Kurt said pushing a swaying and giggling Mercedes toward Sam. She seemed to notice his presence then and threw her arms around his neck. The motion had her practically sagged against him, as she seemed to have lost all power to stand on her own. Sam groaned his dismay internally.

"Hi, baby," she said with a giggle. Sam smiled despite himself and his sorrow at his ruined plans. "I'm home. I'm ready for you to rock my entire world now." Each word slurred heavily into the next one, and she could barely keep her eyes open to look at him.

"_Okay_," Kurt said at that. "Well, you have her now. We'll just be uh…leaving you to it." He grabbed her publicist's hand and the two of them practically ran away from the door, saving Sam from having to stand there and blush at them. Mercedes would just about die when she had to relive this part in the morning.

Sam looked back to Mercedes who had rested her head against his chest and was well on her way to napping on the spot. He shook his head, chuckling as he started to walk her to their room, holding on to her tightly so she wouldn't fall over in her heels. _So much for rocking her entire world…_

The trip took a bit longer than usual, as she kept stopping to ask him to stop moving the ground and to inquire about when they'd gotten so many steps. He helped her undress—not quite as he'd imagined it earlier, given the fact that she was teetering somewhere between frisky and unconscious—then put her in her nightgown.

He couldn't help but laugh at her trying to straddle him, but only really succeeding at throwing a leg over him, before the dizziness from all of her movements overwhelmed her. He rolled her over onto her side of the bed and kissed her forehead before heading back to the kitchen. She was completely asleep by the time he got back with the bottles of water he knew she'd be dying for by morning.

He stood there a moment, just watching her sleep—splayed across her half of the bed, her hair unwrapped (which she'd definitely cuss about in the morning), and completely unaware of the world. His wife, the mother of his children, she was the cutest thing in the world.

It took him back to their high school and college—and well after college—days where he'd taken care of her in this state many times, and she'd done the same for him. It was the most random moments that reminded him just how long he'd loved her, and that reminded him that he'd never stop.

He undressed down to his boxers and got in next to her, pulling her close to him as best he could. He laughed again at this change in events as her face lolled on his chest. A kid-free house, his sexy wife—and _absolutely nothing_ was happening. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed, but as she snuggled closer to him, mumbling that she loved him in her sleep, he figured this was good, too.

And if he was lucky enough, she'd wake up without a hangover in the morning. There'd be plenty of time to rock her entire world _then_ before they had to pick up the kids. With his plan in place, he let himself drift off into the sweetest dreams.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Aww, poor Sam. Thwarted. **Did you like it? Please review.**


	20. Mischief Managed

"_No_. No, no, no," Sam whined against the crook of his wife's neck. He couldn't believe this was happening.

He'd been _very_ patient all night, enduring the torture of watching her strut her way around her label's event in a pencil skirt, blouse, and cardigan that gave him all the sexy librarian feels. He'd controlled himself, glad-handed all the glam friends, and smiled politely all night while he died on the inside. That should have counted for something.

They'd _finally_ made it home, and he'd had her backed against the front door in their foyer, driving her crazy with a series of hot, wet kisses to all the spots on her neck that got her going. He was on the precipice of leading her upstairs to their bedroom and getting everything he'd been fantasizing about, when Cameron's excited squeal sounded from upstairs, shortly followed by Stevie's exasperated yell of, "Get back here, you little ball of mischief!"

"No," came Cameron's cheeky reply. Before long, they heard their cheeky two-year old's little feet padding against the floors upstairs as he ran away from his apparently worn out uncle, giggling the whole way.

"Why is he still awake?" Sam whined, his face still pressed into Mercedes' neck as she laughed. He'd counted on the late hour. Cameron should have been asleep in his crib and Stevie should have been in a similar state, locked away in one of the guest rooms.

But that clearly wasn't the case. Why was the universe against him?

Mercedes could only keep laughing, patting the hair at his nape softly before pushing away from him and heading toward the stairs. She reached for his hand, and Sam reluctantly allowed himself to be tugged along behind her, pouting openly at his foiled plans.

He couldn't help but join Mercedes in her laughter, however, when they reached the top of the stairs and caught sight of their two-year old's bare bottom disappearing into their bedroom, followed closely by Stevie holding out a towel to grab the toddler.

"Cam!" Stevie shouted. The only response he got was a series of giggles and then the toddler was emerging from the door again. Catching sight of his parents, he ran towards them, holding out his arms to be picked up.

"Daddy! Momma!" he called out, completely forgetting his mischief. Stevie appeared shortly after, panting. He slowed at the sight of Mercedes and Sam and walked to them.

Draping the towel over Mercedes' shoulder, he bent across from them, placing his hands on his knees as he took in several deep breaths. It'd _clearly_ been a long night.

Sam had picked up his naked son and he and Mercedes stared at Stevie in his winded condition, waiting for the explanation that would surely follow once Stevie could breathe again.

"So," Mercedes started after a moment. "How'd it go?" She was clearly amused as she smirked at her brother-in-law.

Stevie shot her a look that said, '_Really?_' before he began speaking. "Your son," Stevie said, still not straightening himself up, "is quite possibly the spawn of demons." His expression was completely serious as he regarded Sam and Mercedes.

Mercedes let out a loud burst of laughter at that. "It couldn't have been that bad," Sam said through his adjoining chuckles, laughing more when Stevie looked at them with wide eyes and nodded.

"Oh, but it was! He spit out all of his food onto the kitchen floor and laughed when it splattered," Stevie said. "Then, he cried because he was hungry."

Mercedes and Sam fought not to laugh at Stevie's stymied expression, and Cameron had completely quieted, watching his uncle with interest as he laid his head on his father's shoulder and sucked his thumb.

"He screamed for twenty minutes straight when I put him in his playpen. Just stood there and screamed—not _one_ tear in his eyes," Stevie continued. "Then, when I took him out again, he ran away into the kitchen and hid in the cabinets."

Sam was about to share that he'd done that once before, but kept it to himself. Mercedes still had no clue about that one.

"He splashed all the water from his tub onto the bathroom floor, and me," Stevie said pointing at the wet spots all over his clothing.

"Then he ran away when I turned to get the towel to dry him," Stevie finished eyeing his nephew accusingly.

"Did you really?" Mercedes asked, turning to Cameron and poking him in the stomach. "Did you really do all of that to your uncle?"

Cameron was a different child altogether, completely silent and smiling around his thumb at his mother. She was sure he knew exactly how cute he was and was using it to his full advantage at the moment. Sam chuckled at the perfectly innocent picture Cameron presented at the moment and shook his head.

Stevie wasn't at all convinced and still eyed his nephew skeptically. He wouldn't be fooled. Cameron was probably cooking up another evil plot in that little brain of his as they spoke.

"So, can I take it we won't be enjoying your babysitting services from here on out?" Sam asked.

"Sizeable compensation is now a requirement," Stevie said, finally standing up straight. "And Stacey is a definite necessity," Stevie added, plainly missing his twin, who'd been busy that night. Cameron was always perfectly sweet to her, but for whatever reason, had gotten into the habit of messing with Stevie.

"Aw, well he's sorry," Sam said looking at his child's now angelic countenance. "Aren't you, Cam? You were just having fun with uncle Stevie, right?"

Cameron nodded up at his father, smiling eagerly around his thumb.

"See?" Sam said dropping a kiss onto his son's curls and then smiling at his brother. "He's sorry."

Stevie continued to stare at Cameron for a moment, but eventually shot the toddler a crooked smile. He really was too cute for his own good.

"Why don't you give your uncle Stevie a hug, Cam? Tell him thank you for staying with you tonight and tell him goodnight because it's _way_ passed your bedtime, sir," Mercedes suggested.

"Okay, mommy," Cameron said pulling his thumb out of his mouth and leaning forward towards his uncle. "Thank you, uncle Stevie and goodnight and I love you," Cameron said sweetly to Stevie, who scooped him up and made a show of loudly kissing his cheek before he ruffled his curls. This Cameron he could deal with.

At Cameron's answering giggles, Stevie playfully tickled his nephew while Sam and Mercedes looked on, smiling.

Mercedes was the first to notice the growing wet spot on the front of Stevie's shirt. "Oh my God," she said quietly, turning to look at Sam. She knew exactly when he saw it as he froze and stared at his brother's face, his mouth agape, as he waited for a reaction.

Mercedes had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as she watched Stevie's face, but all was lost when Stevie finally noticed. His smile disappeared instantly and his face fell immediately into a disbelieving scowl.

He held Cameron back from him straight away and continued to frown as his nephew smiled at his handy work. "You peed on me," he told Cameron dryly. Cameron's ensuing giggles were the last straw.

Stevie stared at Sam and Mercedes, frowning, before he held out his nephew for one of his parents to take. "Demon spawn," Stevie muttered and shuffled off mumbling to himself about the new babysitting fees he'd be imposing.

Sam and Mercedes headed in the opposite direction, laughing the entire way as Cameron babbled. "Your brother is never coming over here again," Mercedes commented.

Sam made an unconcerned noise, "He was ten times worse as a kid. He just doesn't remember the things he used to do. It's karma."

Together they made quick work of Cameron's bed time routine, getting him into his pajamas, tucked in, and asleep in record time.

It was Mercedes' turn to run away when Sam turned his gaze to her, with the same hungry look he'd been giving her all night. She took off down the hall, giggling the whole way to their bedroom, with Sam hot on her heels.

* * *

><p>Ha. I just like messing with Sam...and Stevie, too. <strong>Did you like it? Please review. Please? It'll be motivation to actually finish the four or five other oneshots I have sitting on my laptop.<strong>


	21. Ready or Not

"_Fuck_."

The weakness of her voice echoed in stark contrast to the curse Mercedes uttered as she hunched over the toilet bowl for the second time that night. She'd been throwing up for the better part of twenty minutes this time and, _still, _her stomach roiled uncomfortably.

She whimpered as she felt another lurch. Seconds later, she was throwing up again. After _that_ bout, she lowered herself to the cool tile floor and groaned.

It'd been _two days_ of this already—every time she ate something, her stomach turned on her and kicked it all back up. She was tired and _fucking hungry_. As if to emphasize her thought, her stomach growled loudly and Mercedes pouted. "I tried to feed you," she grunted out bitterly. "Shut up, now."

Resting her head against her forearm, she blew out a breath, thankful that her stomach was giving her a moment's reprieve. She knew _exactly_ what this was. It'd been eleven years since the last time, but the symptoms were instantly recognizable.

The cramping that had left her calling upon the good lord, the soreness in her breasts that had banned Sam's access to his favorite playthings until further notice, and the fact that her stomach convulsed at the mere smell of food these days made the cause for her condition overwhelmingly clear.

She was knocked the hell up—and she was going to _kill_ Sam.

Those green eyes that lit up as he regarded her like he was a child and she was a large bowl of ice cream with all the works; those lips that eagerly kissed any available patch of her skin every chance he got; those hands that followed the trails of tingles left in the wake of his kisses; that low rumble of his voice that intoxicated her brain, coaxed her arousal, and convinced her to do some things.

Damn him.

But she couldn't really blame _just_ him. She'd been right there granting her acquiescence with every moan, whimper, and cry of encouragement—not to mention all of the times she'd been the one to get _him_ going.

Now she was here and the timing couldn't have been worse.

While Mercedes, the woman and mother, was over moon—she really was, despite her current position sprawled on the bathroom floor—Mercedes the artist, the diva, who was on the verge of finishing an album after a two year break, couldn't ebb her concern.

People loved to say that she could do it all, but she was about to be the busiest she'd been in years. The promotion and touring would start soon, not to mention all of the other responsibilities she already juggled as a mother, a wife, and a woman in the limelight.

Could she add another ball into the mix without everything crashing down? She was doubtful, especially given the fact that she couldn't even stand up straight at the moment.

"Baby?" Sam's voice called out, thick with sleep, from the bedroom they shared and Mercedes let out another weak curse. She'd managed to do this without waking him up the night before.

"I'm in the bathroom," she said louder, trying to keep the deathly ill tones out of her voice so he wouldn't come in. No such luck—she heard his bare feet padding across the carpet moments later and groaned again, letting her head fall against her arm.

"What the hell?" Sam asked from the doorway, where he stood in his boxer shorts, clearly startled by the sight of his wife slumped against the floor. He quickly knelt, picking her up, and nestled her against him.

She could see the panic in his eyes from her position, laid back against his thighs as he cradled his left arm around her head. He ran his hand into her hair, brushing the strands back to look at her face more clearly. "What's wrong?" he asked, an alarmed expression clouding his features. He looked like a little kid with his wide eyes and messy bed-head. "Should I call an ambulance? I'll call—."

"I'm fine," Mercedes interrupted with a scratchy voice, trying to sit up, but he held her fast against him.

"Right. The bathroom floor is _so_ much more comfortable than our bed," Sam replied, clearly unconvinced. "Try again. What's wrong?"

"Like you don't know. It's all your fault," Mercedes said, trying her best to glare accusingly, but only really succeeding at a pout.

His only response was an adorably confused scrunch of his face. "I think I'm pregnant, Sam." She felt bad for simply blurting it like that, but the growing smile on his face told her he wasn't too concerned with that at the moment.

"What?" he asked, having clearly heard her. He couldn't wipe his smile away.

"I think I'm pregnant," Mercedes said, laughing when he pulled her up abruptly and brought her into a tight hug.

"Baby! You're serious?" His green eyes sparkled happily when he pulled back to study her face and Mercedes detected a light sheen of tears.

"I haven't taken the test yet," Mercedes said quietly, "but the symptoms all fit. The throwing up, the soreness…"

"The cookie eating," Sam finished, making her smile. She'd been giving Cameron a run for his money these days.

He would have mentioned the mood swings, given the tongue lashing he'd received over eating the last cookie that afternoon, but he didn't want risk another one by bringing it up and reminding her.

Instead he dipped his head to touch his lips to hers, ultimately frowning as she kept pulling her face away from him.

"I've been throwing up all night," she said by way of explanation when he looked at her questioningly, not surprised when he rolled his eyes and gave her a chaste kiss anyway.

He pulled her back into a hug and she sighed against him, still not able to shake her concern.

Sam could feel something was off. She seemed tense as he held her and she'd been subdued as she shared her news before. This moment had been a far cry from when they suspected she was pregnant with Cameron. _That_ had been a chaotic exchange filled with cries and screams and joy—a seeming culmination of all of their dreams coming true. Now she seemed troubled, and that troubled _him_.

He let her go and watched her carefully as she stood up to the sink, swishing some mouthwash, before she headed for their bedroom. She got back into their bed, lying on her right side and pulled the comforter up under her arm. Sam followed, getting under the comforter as well, and lying across from her as he continued to watch her.

They lay in this position a while, simply looking at one another before Sam spoke again. His expression was a bit fearful as he asked, "Are you not happy about this?" and reached out his right hand to squeeze her left arm. There wasn't an ounce of judgment in his tone, just genuine concern for her and wanting to understand what was upsetting her.

"No. It's not that. Of course I am," she said, and she _was_. She'd always dreamed of another child, maybe a daughter, to round out their little family. "It's just," she continued, taking Sam's hand and lacing their fingers together, "with Cameron, we had a bit of a plan, and I was taking a break from working. This is a definite surprise. The timing's all wrong and with everything that's going on right now, I'm not sure I'm ready."

"Are you kidding?" Sam asked with a soft smile, before lifting his hand to frame her cheek. "You're as ready as you need to be, baby. You can do anything—especially this. I have it on good authority that you already kick a lot of ass in the mom department." He leaned closer to her, still framing her face with his hand, and sweetly kissed her lips.

"Whose authority?" Mercedes challenged with a small smile when he'd pulled away again.

"Cameron's. Tyler's, too," Sam replied without hesitation, making Mercedes giggle. "And you're an amazing wife," he added with another kiss.

"I suppose that's on your authority?" she teased.

"Mm," Sam intoned in agreement, kissing her again. "Better _only_ be on my authority, too." She giggled again and shook her head at his silliness. "You're an incredibly accomplished and loved artist. You've got a slew of Grammy's and sold out venues that say so."

He brought her into a tight hug against him. "You can do this, baby. I _know_ you can," he said sincerely, rubbing her back. "I know you're scared, but I believe in you. I always have. God, I wish you could see you like I see you, babe. You're the strongest person I know," Sam said and Mercedes sighed against him, feeling uplifted by his words.

"Do you remember when you thought you couldn't move to LA? You were so scared," Sam said softly after a quiet moment, his hand still sweeping across her back soothingly.

Mercedes nodded against him while her fingers lightly traced patterns into his back. "I didn't want to fail and prove my dad right."

"And you didn't," Sam said. "You moved, worked your ass off at that label until they gave you that demo deal, and then started touring around the country in that rickety van that smelled like nachos."

Mercedes nodded. "That was the year before you moved out. You had Carol take you to Costco and you sent me that care package with 18 cans of Febreze," she said laughing and Sam joined her as he thought back on the memory.

"You told me it was too much but you used every can," Sam said smugly. Mercedes conceded his point with a nod, smiling into his chest. "You made it happened for yourself, though. Your first single raced up the charts and the little crowds eventually got huge. And the van got upgraded to a classy tour bus with better ventilation," Sam said.

"Thank God for _that_. That van was vile," Mercedes said.

"But you dealt with it, did what you had to do, and came out on top," Sam insisted.

"Yeah," Mercedes said quietly.

"And do you remember how stressed out you got about everything right before we had Cameron? You cried about _everything_, babe. My mom had to talk you off the ledge that time in Babies 'R Us you just started freaking out over which diaper brand to stock up on cause they had so many different kinds."

Mercedes laughed outright at the memory and pulled back to look at his face. "Oh my goodness, that was the hormones! And how do you even remember that?"

"How could I forget? I thought something was gravely wrong!" Sam defended, looking at her wide-eyed but still smiling. "We were doing good, just reading all the labels and then, out of nowhere, you were like, '_How. am I. supposed. to know?_'" Sam said imitating her meltdown in the middle of the store, crumpled face, flailing arms, and all.

"Your mom literally spent twenty minutes reading stats to me off Google about the difference between organic diapers and the regular stuff, and then she talked about what she used for all of you and told me I wasn't a terrible mom for not knowing. Oh my God, I was such a mess," Mercedes said, covering her giggling face in shame.

"You were," Sam agreed, chuckling when Mercedes burrowed her still covered face against his chest. "But _look_ at you now," he said wrapping his arms around her back and holding her tightly. "You've got the parenting thing down. You learned, you adjusted, and we've got Cam to show for it today."

"And he's _almost_ normal," Mercedes joked, making Sam laugh. She moved her arms so they circled around him again and pressed herself tightly against him.

They were quiet for a little while, enjoying each other's presence, and just sharing the moment with one another—thinking back on everything they'd been talking about.

Mercedes was lost in her thoughts, reflecting silently on how far they'd come since high school when they'd had no clue where they'd end up, to college and beginning to live out their dreams, to starting their family. All the pitfalls they'd encountered, they'd made it through—even when she'd been certain of their impending doom, they'd found a way to work it out.

As if he knew what she'd been thinking, Sam said softly, "I know you're scared _now_, too. It's a new challenge and you're going to have a lot going on, but you're a trooper. You'll make it. You always have. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but I know you can do it. All the hard times that ever come your way, you've found a way push through so gracefully. I know this'll be the same."

"I haven't done it all on my own," Mercedes whispered quietly, pointedly dropping a lingering kiss onto his chest.

"And you won't ever have to do this on your own. You _definitely_ have me," he said lowering his lips to kiss hers chastely. "And you have Cameron," he said when he pulled away. "You have your family, my family, and Mike and Tina. Tyler. This is going to be amazing!" he said.

Mercedes nodded, her small smile growing bigger. She was pregnant and, though it wasn't at all expected, it wasn't unwelcome. She'd struggle, she knew it, but she had the best support group she could possibly want for when times got rough. They'd help her navigate this new chapter as they had everything else.

For the first time since she'd realized she was pregnant, she felt her senses of dread subside, making way for the excitement and joy that lay just underneath.

"We're gonna have a baby," she whispered at Sam, smiling and glad to have this moment to redeem the less than excited way she'd delivered the news before.

Mercedes could see him getting emotional again, the light sheen of tears returning to his eyes as he brushed a hand over her stomach.

She realized he'd pushed aside his own emotion that must have been swirling inside of him to focus on her and her feelings. It was a bit of a habit with him and she couldn't have loved him more for it. She told him as much, kissing him in thanks.

"Cam's gonna have a sister," Sam said after a moment, pulling back a bit to look at her.

"How do you know the baby's gonna be a girl? We haven't even done the first ultrasound," Mercedes asked with a smile.

"Because I want to her to be," Sam said. "A little girl who's gonna be just as amazing and gorgeous as her momma." This he delivered in a low rumble that turned Mercedes to putty, shortly before closing the space between their lips once again, and kissing his wife breathless.

"Careful with that voice and those lips," she warned him. "That's exactly how we ended up here."

"Careful's kinda irrelevant at this point," he said shifting to kiss her neck, and slipping his hand inside of her sleep shirt and over her belly. "You're already pregnant, baby," he whispered huskily against her skin. "Can't do much more damage than that," he said, pulling her in for another bone-melting kiss.

She would have protested, but she figured he was right—plus his hands and tongue had begun working together to ensure she could barely do more than babble, let alone string together an entire argument.

Damn him.

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><p><strong>AN:** Aw. This is the story of Lilliana. It correlates with Chapter 6: One of Those Days. I hope you liked it. This was literally called 'Fetus' forever. I hope you appreciate the title change lol.

**Please leave me a review! I like those.**


	22. Hey Jealousy

**A/N:** I don't know what this is, okay? But I hope you like it. Oh, this correlates with Chapter 13: Cauchemar. You should probably read that one first if you haven't. And if you _have_, onward!

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><p>Mercedes poked her head into the bedroom, not at all surprised to find her husband pouting. If you asked him, he'd resolutely deny it, but he was <em>most definitely<em> pouting. His back was to her, and he made no effort to turn to her, even as the sound of the door clicking shut behind her alerted him to her presence.

"Sammy," Mercedes started sweetly, struggling not to laugh when he only pursed his lips. He pulled off his t-shirt and jeans, ignoring her, and then sat on the bed, staring straight forward—the telltale sign that he wasn't talking to her.

"Baby," she tried again, kneeling on her side of the bed and inching forward toward him on his side.

He remained unyielding, staring straight out in from of him, making sure she knew he was not amused with her. He tensed when she put her hands on his bare shoulders and Mercedes rolled her eyes. _We'll see how long that lasts_, she thought, running her hands down his arms and pressing herself into his back.

"Are you not going to talk to me?" she asked in a whisper, bringing her hands up to his shoulders and massaging the muscles there with her thumbs. He sighed, but still refused to speak.

_This was all Tina's fault_, Mercedes thought, stifling more laughter. She should have known better than to listen to her crazy friend and get Sam all worked up, but the opportunity had presented itself too enticingly to pass up.

Earlier that week, she'd gone to drop Lilliana off at her cooking class. She'd been more than a little surprised to find none other than Chef Pierre Moreau, Sam's dream-foe, at the door greeting students and parents. Apparently Lilliana's regular teacher had an unexpected illness in the family, and Pierre had been recruited to fill her spot until she returned.

She'd immediately called Tina to share the news on her way out. The two had taken to teasing Sam about his paranoia concerning the man since his dream a few months before. It was all too amusing to them that Pierre was back, knowing that Sam would most likely lose his mind over this new development.

Sam reacted exactly as they'd expected when Mercedes got home to share the news.

"You'll never guess who I ran into at Lilly's cooking class," Mercedes sang, offering her husband a pure troll smile as she walked into the living room where he sat on the couch. The look on Sam's face said he already knew. He stared at Mercedes in complete silence as he watched her, frozen to his spot. She could already see the wheels working in his head.

"Chef Pierre has returned—for an indefinite period of time," Mercedes said, to her husband's apparent horror, as she plopped down next to him. She wanted to laugh so badly as she took in the hard look on his face.

"What for?" Sam asked testily, having finally found his voice. "Doesn't he live in Paris? Why is he all the way out here?"

"Mm, I don't know," Mercedes replied. "I'll have to ask when I go pick up Lilly. Maybe I'll have some time to get to know Chef Pierre a bit this time around."

She'd paid for that comment in tickles and lots of kisses—which would have turned into more, had Cameron not decided he needed some family time _just then_. He'd interrupted them, pushed them apart, and sat between them—putting his arms around both of them, and started a conversation about the history of soccer.

Sam had insisted on coming along to all pickups and drop offs from then on. There, he took every opportunity to engage in increasingly comical displays of one-sided male posturing, and make sure Chef Pierre knew he wasn't trusted and that he was being keenly watched.

It didn't help matters that Pierre turned out to be the extremely friendly and dedicated sort. He was really interested in engaging and building personal connections with all of the students and their families—especially given that the regular teacher had been forced to leave to abruptly. He wanted the transition to go as smoothly as possible for everyone.

Thus, he was always at the door before and after class, greeting children and parents, and socializing. He never acted in a way that was inappropriate, but that didn't matter to Sam. The way he felt about Pierre—which he called cautious and Mercedes called ridiculous—every little look or touch was crossing the line.

Mercedes and Tina were just tickled with the new stories they were racking up after Sam's every encounter with Pierre. Many a drunken Saturday evening was spent giggling over his antics while Sam looked on from nearby making his '_I don't care_' face and maintaining he was just looking out for his—which just made the girls laugh more as they went on telling stories.

Like the story about how Sam hadn't appreciated the way Pierre's eyes lit up as he called out, "Aaaah, Mr. and Mrs. Evans and young Lilly!" with his little accent before placing his hands on Mercedes' shoulders and talking about how splendidly Lilly's lasagna had turned out the week before. Sam had stared hard at the man's hands and Mercedes almost died laughing in the parking lot when they'd left thinking of how Sam had put his arm around her in response, effectively rebuffing Pierre's hands away. She'd called Tina straight away and the two still laughed about that one.

But, by far, their favorite had been the time Pierre had greeted Mercedes with a double kiss to her cheeks at the door. Sam had tensed, turning bright red, then proceeded to spend the next fifteen minutes—shamelessly stopping the flow of Pierre's greeting routine with the rest of the parents—to explain his hunting tactics in great detail. He'd touched on how he could stealthily creep up on an unsuspecting target, and finished with how his father had taught him some excellent butchering skills that he might get to show Pierre sometime—you know, _for the class_.

Mercedes had barely been able to get that story out to Tina, having to stop and breathe at a few intervals before she continued.

It was during one such (really drunken) story-sharing (laughing, rather) session that Tina came up with her brilliant plan. Knowing what she did, Mercedes should have never listened, but she'd never been one to turn down a prank, and she was in the mood for a little mischief. Thus the girls had concocted to buy Mercedes an Edible Arrangement of chocolate covered strawberries, made to look like a bouquet of red roses. This, they accompanied with a special note and headed to the Evans abode to let the drama unfold.

Placing the arrangement on the kitchen island, the girls hid in the pantry and awaited Sam's arrival. A few minutes later, they heard footsteps approaching and resisted the urge to laugh, knowing they'd give up their position.

Instead of Sam, however, Tyler, Cameron, and Lilliana walked into the kitchen and eyed the bouquet with interest.

"Sweet," Cameron said, pulling two strawberries off the arrangement. He kept one for himself and handed the other to his little sister, who waited for his nod of encouragement to take a bite. Mercedes and Tina wanted to move them along, but thought better of it. What kind of credibility would they have emerging from the pantry, telling their kids to get away from treat they'd set up just to mess with Sam? None, so they stayed put and prayed they would leave on their own.

"Hey," Tyler protested, watching Cameron and Lilly eat. "Dude, that's probably for your mom. You're gonna jack up your dad's wooing and he's gonna be pissed." Lilly stopped chewing abruptly and looked to Cameron with wide eyes.

"Relax. We're simply sharing in their love—of which _we_ are a product," Cameron said around a mouthful, before taking another berry from the other side. Lilly had no idea what that meant, but took him at his word and enjoyed the rest of her treat. Mercedes rolled her eyes at Cameron from the pantry and shook her head. Who was this child even?

Tyler eyed his friend skeptically. "God, Ty. Don't be so uptight. Here," Cameron said pulling off another strawberry. "Now it's even. Share in their love, too."

Tyler shrugged and grabbed the fruit before the three of them went off toward the stairs up to Cameron's room, thankfully ignoring the card and keeping their moms from having to make any unnecessary explanations.

Another set of footsteps alerted them to Sam's arrival and Tina was practically giddy as they watched him and Mike enter the kitchen. She grabbed on to Mercedes' arm and the two looked at each other and smiled conspiratorially before turning their attention back to the scene.

Sam was the first to notice the arrangement and he eyed it curiously. Mercedes could see him check the wall calendar, then run through the dates in his mind as he tried to figure out if he'd missed something. Satisfied he hadn't, he checked the card and froze for a second before looking back at Mike.

"What?" Mike said, staring at Sam blankly in the midst of reaching for a berry. Sam smacked his hand away from the arrangement and Mike noticed his look for the first time. "Dude. What's wrong?"

"Fucking _Pierre_ sent these for Mercedes," Sam said angrily and Mike's jaw dropped. Sam never called Pierre anything but 'Fucking _Pierre_' since his dream. Tina and Mercedes muffled their giggles as they looked on.

"You're kidding!" Mike said, purely scandalized.

Sam decided to read the card aloud, his clear loathing dripping from every word.

"Mercy, mon amour," Sam read and had to stop right there, while Tina and Mercedes stifled giggles at the sound of their own words. "The fuck is he calling her Mercy for? Like they're on nickname status now?" he asked. "She is Mrs. Evans. Mrs. _Sam_ Evans to him!" Mercedes raised an amused brow at that turning to giggle silently with Tina. "He better get that straight right now. I'm gonna kick his ass!" Sam told Mike.

"What's that French shit mean?" Sam asked.

"I think it means 'my love'," Mike provided, ever helpful.

"My love?" Sam repeated. "_My love_? My wife—_his fucking love_?" Sam was turning a nice shade of tomato red and Mercedes knew they'd have to shut this down soon before he passed out. She and Tina were both crying with laughter by this point, struggling and close to failing at keeping quiet.

"My heart starves for you, love. Won't you feed it?" Sam finished dryly. "Oh, I'll feed it," Sam said. "I'm gonna fucking kick his ass with a baguette."

That was it. Tina and Mercedes fell out of pantry laughing raucously. Mike immediately understood and joined in, but it took Sam a little longer to clear the fog—the thick haze of his murderous intentions. He was not amused with her when it did clear, and stubbornly gave her the cold shoulder from there on out to let her know it.

This found them in their current standoff, with her trying to butter him up and him resisting.

"Baby, are you really not gonna talk to me?" She punctuated her question with a series of hot, teasing kisses to his neck before running her hand down his bare stomach. She grazed her finger lightly across his stomach, just under the waistband of his boxers, baiting him.

Sam may have been mad at her, but his body sure seemed to welcome her touch. He groaned when she slipped her hand lower, stoking his arousal with light touches. "Are you gonna stay mad at me? I'm sorry, you know. I was only joking."

"It wasn't funny," Sam said sternly.

"I know. I'm sorry." Though she _still_ thought it was pretty funny, she'd keep that bit to herself in the interest of smoothing Sam's well-ruffled feathers. She'd already had her fun.

She pulled him onto his back, straddling him before she bent down to kiss him.

Sam moaned as she rocked her hips against him and she knew she'd won this round when she felt his hands at her hips guiding her movements.

"I'm still really mad up here," he said pointing at his forehead.

Mercedes nodded with a small laugh. "Okay, noted. I'm gonna make it all up to you tonight," she promised.

"Deal," Sam said finally giving up all pretenses.

Ironically enough, the strawberries ended up being _very_ useful.

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><p><strong>AN:** LOL. I swear someone told me to write something like this, but I can't remember who and I can't find the prompt. Just blame it on me.

**Bring on the reviews!** I expect all of them to say, "What was this even?" And I'll have no answer. :D


	23. Sweet Dreams, Baby

"_Momma._"

Mercedes awoke with a start at this whisper accompanied by a slight tug on her nightshirt. She sat up blearily and looked around, seeing that Sam was still asleep and felt another tug. "Momma," the whisper came again and she looked over, startled to find Cameron standing at her bedside looking at her, his green eyes wide with fright.

Tears streamed down the three-year olds face and his bottom lip poked out adorably as he cried and held his arms out for her to pick him up. She immediately reached out for him and he gratefully stepped into her arms. He was shaking as she pulled him into her lap and she was shocked to find him wet.

Cameron hadn't wet the bed in months—a fact the whole family had been very proud of. They'd even thrown him a huge 'You're Diaper Free' party when he'd gone three months without wetting the bed at night. It'd been a huge affair, where his mom and dad, both sets of grandparents, his godparents, and his best friend had come together to celebrate his achievement and gifted him loads of cool new big kid underwear. From that day he would always go around the house proudly informing anyone who would listen that he was a big kid. So his current was that much more alarming to Mercedes.

She picked him up still, nestling his little, trembling body closer to hers. Washing her nightshirt was a small price to pay to ensure the well-being of her son. "Honey, what happened?" she asked softly, running her hand up and down his back, trying to soothe him.

"I had a scary dream," Cameron whimpered, burying his face into his mother's neck. She felt him sniffle against her and attempt to burrow himself even closer to her.

"Oh, my little man. It's okay. Momma has you now. You don't have to be scared anymore," Mercedes said softly, beginning to rock him back and forth. She smiled when she felt him start to relax a bit. The death grip he'd had on her shirt loosened some, but he still wasn't ready to pull away from her and kept his face buried against her neck.

"What's going on?" Sam's voice was husky with sleep and Mercedes turned to find him sitting up slowly and rubbing his eyes. He looked at them a bit worriedly as he waited for an answer.

"Cam had a nightmare," Mercedes said quietly, moving her hands away from Cameron and onto the bed so she could shift closer to Sam. They both chuckled as Cameron kept his arms around her neck, his face never moving from her neck. He just held on for the ride as she scooted on the bed.

"You wanna tell mommy and I what you dreamed about, Cammy?" Sam prompted and Cameron finally lifted his face to look at Sam. He was still pouting, but the tears had thankfully subsided.

"It's alright. We have you now. You can tell us," Mercedes encouraged him.

He looked at her for a moment, considering it, before he nodded and laid his head on her shoulder. They listened as he told them a tale about two furry monsters that had emerged from the closet in his room. They'd dragged him off to the kitchen and strapped him down to a chair, making him watch as they gleefully ate up all of the cookies in the house. Cameron imitated just how they cackled at him as they ate his favorite treats and Mercedes and Sam shot each other an amused look. Someone eating Cameron's cookies _would_ be a nightmare for him.

Cameron obliviously continued with his tale, holding on to his mother tightly and Mercedes could tell this was the part that had really agitated him. After the monsters had finished eating his cookies, they told him he was next and advanced toward him menacingly. He was powerless to stop them and he wanted to call out for his mom and dad, but every time he opened his mouth, no sound came out. He tried and tried and tried, but he couldn't make his voice work. He'd woken up right as they grabbed him up to find that he'd wet the bed.

"Then I was coming to you and it was dark and too quiet so I was scareder. I thought the monsters would grab me up, so I cried," he finished, snuggling closer to his mom.

Mercedes turned to Sam at that and poked out her bottom lip, sorry her baby had gone through that. If it'd been possible, she'd have thumped those rude ass monsters on the head for trying to eat her child.

She knew where it stemmed from, though. They'd recently deemed Cameron old enough to start sleeping in his 'big kid' room on his own. He'd been sleeping in a crib in the corner of their room since he was a few weeks old. Since they'd had to keep getting up to walk down the hall to check on him in the middle of the night, and every little thing he did made the new parents jumpy, they'd thought it'd make things easier to just have him in the room with them for a while. A while had turned into two years.

When Cam's crib had gotten too small for him, they'd simply transferred him into their bed. This had worked out for a bit, but they quickly learned that Cameron required his own space. He often slept like he was fighting battles in his sleep—and he might have been, considering he'd punched his father in the face once with his little fist, mumbling something about ninja attacks. Sam figured it was probably time to stop playing that game with him, Tyler, and Mike.

Thus, he'd been transferred to his own room for the past few weeks, and he'd been tried to brave about it for them, but his underlying fears were plain for them to see. He tried to stall his bedtime at night now instead of running up ahead of them like he used to when he knew he'd be going to their room. He tried to keep them in his room longer asking for more than one story or song at night. Now, he'd had a nightmare.

Sam spoke up, giving his son a light squeeze on the arm. "I know it really scared you, Cam, but it was only a dream. Our brains sometimes do that to us. It's weird. It's like little scary movies, but then you wake up and you know it's not real. You just gotta try to take a deep breath, think about something else, so you can fall back asleep."

"Yeah," Mercedes piped up. "You know what I used to do when I had bad dreams?" she asked him, and Cameron shook his head as he perked up to listen. "I would take a deep breath when I woke up from the dream, then close my eyes and try to think of the happiest place I could think of, where there were only good things and it helped me to fall back asleep and have good dreams."

"My mom used to make me count sheep, "Sam piped up. "I'd name each one when I counted them and pretended they were jumping from the ceiling and out the window to go over the moon. I imagined they were taking a trip to buy me magic dream dust from the fairies. Then when I fell asleep again, they'd come back and sprinkle it on me so I'd have good dreams."

"_What?_" Mercedes asked drawing out the word, and clearly amused with the story before she fell out giggling. Sam blushed and Cameron giggled for the first time since he'd come into their room.

"It worked. Leave me alone," Sam said, but still smiled good-naturedly at his family.

"How about we get you cleaned up and then we try some stuff so you can get back to sleep?" Mercedes asked Cameron when her giggling had calmed. Cameron looked at her then at Sam, who nodded at him encouragingly. He looked a bit apprehensive, but ultimately agreed.

He let Sam take him, laying his head down on his father's bare shoulders and clinging to him as they headed back into his room. Mercedes promised to join them just as soon as she'd changed her nightshirt.

Cameron sat quietly as his father undressed him, wiping him clean and powdering him, before he changed him into a new pair of underwear and his Captain America pajamas. Sam smiled at him, giving him a kiss and ruffling his curls when he was done. Cameron waited patiently in the little rocking chair that sat next to his bed as his dad stripped the wet sheets from the mattress and flipped it over, before fixing the new ones.

Mercedes came in a few seconds later holding a little plate in her hands, a small bottle of water under her arm, and a small glass of milk and Cameron gave her a small smile as she knelt in front of him and pinched his cheek with her free hand. "I was just in the kitchen downstairs," she told him. "I promise you there are no monsters down there, and look what I found!" She let him look into the small plate in her hand and Cameron smiled at the sight of a small chocolate chip cookie. It was usually against the rules for him to have sweets this late at night, but she figured just this once, it was fine.

Sam and Mercedes sat with Cameron as he quietly consumed his snack. His eyes closed in delight with every bite of the cookie and his parents chuckled softly, shaking their heads as they watched him. When he'd finished, he drank his milk and some water before they took him on a small tour of his room, being sure to check under the bed and in the closet to show him nothing but his toys and clothes were there. Mercedes even locked his closet door to be extra sure.

Satisfied, Cameron got back into bed, pulling his Captain America doll next to him and sat back, leaning against the headboard.

"Alright," Mercedes said, as she and Sam sat on the toy chest that doubled as a bench in Cameron's room. "Close your eyes, baby." Cameron willingly obliged. "Good," she encouraged, "now take a deep breath." She and Sam smiled watching Cameron's belly puff up with air before deflating again. "Good, go again," Mercedes prompted and Cameron obeyed. "Good, now imagine the happiest place you could go. It could be a real place, like somewhere daddy and I took you—like the park or the carnival, or you could even make it up, like a giant candy factory—whatever you want. Just make sure everything you see there in your mind makes you happy. Daddy and I will go first so you have an idea."

Cameron nodded and kept his eyes closed as he listened to his parents.

"Mommy's dream world has a lot of purple," Mercedes began. "There are purple lights in the all trees and purple cars on the street and I have a _big_ closet with lots of purple dresses and shoes." Cameron giggled. "You're there and so is your daddy and you give me lots of hugs and kisses all day. Uncle Mike and aunt Tina are there with Tyler and Uncle Kurt lives right down the road instead of all those miles away in New York. We play a lot of games and we laugh a lot. You try, Sam." She opened her eyes and smiled at Sam. Cameron's eyes were still closed on the bed as he listened and imagined.

"Okay," Sam said and, knowing him, Mercedes prepared for the trip he was bound to take them on. "My dream world…uh, well, it's a lot like this world. Actually, it _is_ this world. You and your mom and the life we have. That makes me really, really happy. That's already my dream and I'm really lucky I get to have it every day," Sam said earnestly and Mercedes turned to him with an enamored expression. _This man._ "But maybe in the other world, I can fly," Sam added. "After that, I already have everything."

Cameron heard nothing more for a few moments. "Is it my turn yet?" he asked popping open one eye to see why the talking had stopped, just in time to see his parents jump and pull out of the kiss they'd been sharing.

"Sorry, honey, yeah, it's your turn," Mercedes said slightly flustered. She smiled as Sam's hand slipped around her own and locked their fingers together. His thumb gently caressed her knuckle as Cameron delved into his dream world—a world which included chocolate chip cookie trees, ninja turtles on patrol, a roller coaster in his room, the ability to fly, a monster zapper, hair that could change colors at will, sleeping on fluffy clouds, a swimming pool with seahorses in it, a colorful floor that lit up when he danced on it, walls he was allowed to paint on without mommy getting mad, and a bounce house with his and Tyler's stuff inside so they could live there. Oh, and his family was somewhere in all that.

Sam and Mercedes raised their eyebrows as he went on, and smiled at the happy beam on Cameron's face as he spoke, his eyes closed as he imagined all the things that made him happy. They hoped it'd be enough to settle him so he could fall back asleep.

Mercedes failed to hold in a yawn and Sam looked into her tired eyes, knowing his probably looked the same. Mercedes had spent the day in the studio and had another full day coming up. Sam had a deadline to meet and needed to be ready to start his day energized.

Mercedes got onto her knees near Cameron's bed and pulled Sam down with her a moment later.

"We're gonna say a little prayer together, so God will help you to have good dreams," she spoke quietly. "What do daddy and I always tell you?"

"If you've got time to pray, God's got time to listen," Cameron said without hesitation.

"Praise!" Mercedes said with a smile and Cameron and Sam giggled. "Go ahead, baby."

"Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Sweet dreams all through the night and wake me with the morning light," Cameron said.

"Good," Mercedes said, leaning closer to her son and giving him another kiss before she stood up.

"Alright, little man, we're gonna go. You keep thinking of those happy places, okay?" Sam said. Cameron's eyes snapped to Sam immediately. "We're going to leave the door open. There's a nightlight in here and one in the hall. The monitor's on so we'll hear if anything is going on and come right to you. And Captain America is here," Sam cajoled, picking Cameron up and giving him a kiss.

He held him out for a kiss from his mother before laying him back on the bed. He put Cameron's doll in his hand and tucked him in.

"Can I have a song?" Cameron tried. His parents laughed, and obliged him with another bedtime song, singing him a soft rendition of Michelle Branch's _Crazy Ride_, Mercedes singing lead and Sam gently strumming on his guitar and backing her up.

Cameron's eyes were drooping by the time they were done. After another kiss from both of them, and affirmations that they loved him, they left the room and headed down the hall.

"He's fine," Sam said a few minutes later. He'd already gotten into their bed and Mercedes just sat at the edge fiddling with the monitor, listening for any signs of distress. She looked back to him and smiled sheepishly. "Come here," Sam whispered.

Mercedes set the monitor down and joined him under the covers, scooting backwards so he could wrap his arm around her and spoon her. "Maybe he could have stayed in here just for tonight," she suggested.

"He has to get used to staying in his room, baby. That's why he's scared. It's only been a few weeks. Once he gets used to it, he'll be good," Sam consoled.

"I know. I'm being silly. I just wonder if we did the right thing. I hate seeing him so scared and crying like that," Mercedes confessed, sighing slightly.

"You're his momma. It'd be weird if you didn't," Sam told her, kissing her neck. "I hate it, too, but I honestly think we did the right thing. I'm sure he's fine."

They were silent for a several minutes and Sam thought she'd fallen asleep until she turned in his arms. "Maybe we could just pop our heads in and check that he's sleeping. We don't have to stay or anything," her expression was pleading and Sam was sure if she didn't check on her baby, she'd be the one not sleeping that night.

He laughed, but nodded and Mercedes smiled, all but jumping out of the bed.

She padded softly, barefoot toward Cameron's room, turning around to shush Sam as he squeaked his way down the hall behind her in his flip flops. Sam made a show of kicking them off in the middle of the hall before he kept going.

They found Cameron on his bed with his back toward the door, clutching his doll in his little arms. He took in deep, even breaths as he slept peacefully and Mercedes sighed, relieved. She gently ran her fingers through his blond curls and smiled.

"Okay," she said, turning to look at Sam who'd been leaning by the door watching them with a smile.

"Settled?" he asked her, and she nodded. "You did good. I think the visualization thing really helped him. The prayers, too," Sam said smiling, and taking her hand as he led her back. "Probably more than flying sheep and magic dream dust could have," he added and Mercedes laughed, remembering it.

"Your tour of the room and helping him stay strong through everything will make it easier for him from here on out, though," she commended. "Sheep flying off to go buy you magic dream dust from fairies, though, babe?" Mercedes asked him through her giggles, unable to let that subject go. "What was that about?"

"I was a dorky kid. Leave me alone," Sam said walking into the room, smiling despite himself at the sound of her laughter.

"As if you're any different now," Mercedes challenged.

"Yeah, well you married me anyway," Sam said falling gratefully into bed.

"That I did, and I would again and again," Mercedes said sweetly, kissing him. He smiled at that pulling her in closer.

All Evans were knocked out within minutes.

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><p><strong>AN**: Just a small family moment that's been on my mind for a while. I sang _Crazy Ride_ by Michelle Branch to this little boy I babysit to help him go to sleep and this whole scenario was playing in my head, so I just decided to write it out. I realize it's not like, riveting and action packed lol, but it warms my heart so I decided to share. The thought of Sam and Mercedes having these parenting moments just makes me smile. Anyway, I'll stop rambling.** I hope you enjoyed! Please, please, review if you did. Your reviews are what keep me inspired to keep writing. I wilt without them lol. So REVIEW, please, if you wanna see more!**


	24. Rainy Day

**A/N:** Randomly popped into my head because it's raining outside_—_and I'm listening to Karmin lol. I wrote this on my tumblr, but, since it's LW, I'm posting here, too.

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><p>"Sam, he's going to get sick. <em>Stop<em>," Mercedes said. Her body language said anything but as she threw her head back and laughed at Cameron's squealing giggles. She'd just finished making lunch and had come up to get them when she found them in this state.

An unexpected rain shower had canceled the family's plans to spend their Saturday on the beach. Mercedes had thought for sure that this change in the itinerary would put a damper on the entire day. As she watched Cameron continue to giggle, however, she realized that wasn't going to be the case.

Sam had thought of the seemingly perfect way to entertain their four-year old. He had the music in his office blasting—Brokenhearted by Karmin. He sat in his office chair with Cameron secured in his lap. Using his feet to gain traction on the floor, he spun the chair around as fast as he could. With every spin, Cameron screamed and, when the chair stopped spinning, he laid his head back on his dad's chest, looking up at him, and laughed like it was the funniest thing ever to have happened.

Sam looked down at him and chuckled, before asking, "Ready?" and spinning again. They did this over and over and Mercedes was sure they both had to be dizzy as hell by now.

"Babe, he's gonna throw up. I can't believe you," Mercedes said through her laughter.

"He's _fine_," Sam assured her, laughing. "Right, Cam?"

Cameron couldn't even answer as he kept laughing.

"One more time?" Sam asked and Cameron nodded enthusiastically. Sam obliged him, spinning one more time, and the four-year old fell apart again.

"Oh my God," Mercedes said, laughing as she shook her head in disbelief. "You've got him drunk on giggles. Look at him," she said as Cameron struggled to take in a proper breath. "Put him down. It's lunch time."

Sam did as told and set Cameron on his feet.

Cameron took about four wobbly steps before he gave up and laid down the floor. _A mess. _"You're my best friend, daddy," he said with a giggle before exhaling a happy sigh.

Sam laughed at that. "You're my best friend, too, little man."

Mercedes shook her head at her family, not able to restrain the chuckle that bubbled out of her. They were crazy, but she loved them with everything she had. She shut off the music before she walked over to Cameron and picked him up off the floor. "Come on, Wobbles," she told him.

He only giggled as he threw his arms around her neck. Sam followed closely behind them, just narrowly missing a few walls as he happily stumbled his way downstairs.

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><p><strong>AN: **Lol. I don't know, okay? **Did you like it, though? Review!**


	25. Overprotective

It was official. Sam's worst nightmare was happening right before his eyes and it was happening way too early and he didn't know what to do. He'd showed up with Mercedes to pick up Lilliana at school as they usually did. He'd never get tired of seeing the smile bloom on her face when she saw them for the first time after being gone from them all day. His heart always felt so full when she took off at a sprint toward them.

But today was different. Today, she emerged from the building with her hand attached to that of another classmate—a little curly-haired boy named Oliver. She'd marched right up to her parents, Oliver trailing behind her, and introduced him as her boyfriend.

Sam could literally feel the blood draining from his face as he processed Lilliana's words and he couldn't bring himself to say anything. He could hear Mercedes speaking next to him, and then Lilliana and the boy answered back, but he couldn't bring make his voice work as he stared at his daughter. His only response was a feverish chuckle, before he picked up his little girl and walked off, ignoring Lilly's protests and leaving Mercedes to make nice with Oliver.

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><p>"Code Red. Operation Hell to the No is in effect! I repeat Operation HTTN is in effect! Everyone must report to headquarters immediately!" Sam said into his cell phone, talking to Mike, as he headed into the house.<p>

Mercedes rolled her eyes, helping Lilliana out of the car, as she watched him go. This had been a touchy subject for Sam since the day he'd found out they were having a girl. He'd expected their second child would be a girl all along, but something had flipped for him as he looked at her ultrasound image, which the doctor had labeled 'Baby Girl Evans'. It was as if the idea of his little girl had suddenly become real.

He'd started out really emotional as he shared his thoughts with Mercedes, much like he'd done with Cameron—getting to hold her, to sing to her, to help her take her first steps, to fail miserably at combing her hair, to take her to her first day of school. Then his mind had started to wander—her first friend, her first dance, her first date—and Mercedes had watched Sam's color change into a dismal shade of green.

He'd gotten quiet after that, and Mercedes thought now that Operation Hell to the No—what even?—had been borne in that silence.

"Is Daddy mad at me?" Lilliana asked quietly as they walked into the house. She'd definitely noticed the change in her dad's demeanor. "He didn't call me Lilly Bean, and he didn't talk to me about school, and he didn't like Oliver."

"No, sweetheart," Mercedes assured her. "He just has a lot on his mind today." Lilliana mustered a small smile and nodded, but Mercedes could tell she was still troubled. She usually enjoyed close relationship with her father, and the way he'd just shut down hurt her.

"Come on," Mercedes encouraged. "Let's get inside. You can get changed and play with your toys while I get your snack ready." Lilly perked up a bit at that and ran upstairs.

Mercedes smiled at her daughter. She'd known how Sam would get about the boys in Lilliana's life, but she never figured it'd be this drastic, or that Mike, Tyler, and Cameron would be involved. Ten minutes after Sam's call, Mike and Tyler had showed up dressed all in black, and joined Sam and Cameron—who also donned black attire—in Sam's office.

Tina walked in behind her family, shooting her best friend a questioning look, as they met up in the kitchen. "Lilly says she has a boyfriend," Mercedes said and a look of understanding dawned on Tina's face.

"And the black clothes?" Tina asked.

Mercedes shrugged. "Sam's losing it. I mean, he just shut down at the mention of the word boyfriend. I'm pretty sure he's been dreading this moment since before he even had a daughter. I'm just like, she's _four_. I don't even think she knows what a boyfriend is."

"Did you guys talk to her about it?" Tina asked and Mercedes laughed.

"He picked her up, carted her away, then spent the car ride mumbling to himself. Sort of left limited time for conversation," Mercedes said, thinking back to earlier. She hadn't known Sam could turn such a nice shade of maroon.

"Well, why don't _we_ talk to her about it—while they're in there doing whatever. See what's what," Tina suggested and Mercedes agreed. The two headed to Lilly's room.

* * *

><p>"So your mommy tells me you made a new friend at school," Tina asked Lilly. She and Mercedes were seated with the little girl on the rug in her room. Tina held Lilly in her lap and talked to her as Lilly brushed one of her Barbies' hair.<p>

Lilly smiled a little—she was still upset about Sam's silence with her—and nodded at her godmother's question, not looking up from her doll. "Yup! His name's Oliver! He's my boyfriend," she said in a matter of fact tone. Mercedes smirked and shook her head.

"Oh,_ really_?" Tina asked with a giggle. "What's he like?"

"He's nice. He shared his toys with me. And we played dolls and he doesn't say it's too girly. And he let me play cars and tag," Lilly said nonchalantly as she continued brushing her Barbie's hair.

"Oh?" Tina said. "Do you hold hands? Do you like him?" she asked, getting down to what she really wanted to know. Lilly lifted her head at that and looked at Tina like she had six eyes.

"_No!_" Lilly denied, her mouth stretched into a disgusted grimace. "That's for the husbands, like daddy and Uncle Mike!" she said loudly. "He's only my boyfriend!"

"Why do you call him your boyfriend, sweetie?" Mercedes asked, laughing.

Lilly looked at her, confused, as if she should already know the answer. "He's a boy and he's my friend, momma," she said in explanation and returned to her doll.

Mercedes giggled silently and turned to Tina who laughed and said, "Well, there you have it."

* * *

><p>"I say I dress up like Darth Vader," Sam said, and the boys stared at him blankly. "Then, when I go pick up Lilly tomorrow, I warn him to stay away or face his doom."<p>

"Probably, not the best idea," Tyler piped up. "I'm pretty sure that'll get you arrested, or at least banned from school grounds."

"I say we break into his house and steal all his toys," Cameron said. "Then, we can hold them for ransom until he backs off."

"Mm," Mike intoned in agreement. "Evil. I like it."

"Also an offense punishable with jail time," Tyler said.

"Dude, whose side are you on?" Cameron demanded, not liking his friend's unhelpfulness one bit.

"Whichever side keeps me out of jail. I'm 17. They'll try me as an adult," Tyler informed them. "I have a lot on my life's bucket list, and jail isn't a dream of mine. I don't think it's any of yours either. I'm just looking out for you."

Cameron rolled his eyes. "What's your big idea, then?"

"We could just bribe her with ice cream and dolls or something," Tyler said.

All the men looked around at each other, considering, when a knock sounded at the door. They all turned as Tina and Mercedes entered the inner sanctum and looked around at them.

"What're you boys doin'?" Mercedes asked in a singsong. In fact, she already knew. She and Tina had been standing outside the door eavesdropping long enough to know that this was the most ridiculous meeting in history.

"Nothing," Sam said quickly.

"Oh? The demise of a four year old boy wasn't on the agenda today?" Tina asked.

"Demise is a strong word," Cameron said. "We were thinking more like 'foil'," he finished and Mike kicked him. "Ow!"

"What happens during the meetings of the brotherhood _stays_ in the meetings," Mike hissed.

Mercedes and Tina rolled their eyes.

"The brotherhood? Really?" Tina asked.

"We just thought we should inform you that this little meeting of the minds is entirely unnecessary," Mercedes said.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.

"Meaning, if you had taken the time to talk to your daughter instead of freaking out, you'd find out she has no idea what a boyfriend even is. She's four, Sam. She thinks that a boyfriend is just a boy who is your friend. All the other stuff, the stuff you're thinking, 'is for the husbands'," Mercedes said, quoting her daughter.

Sam blushed, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't relieved to hear it.

"And you should probably talk to her," Mercedes added before she and Tina left the inner sanctum. "She thinks you're mad at her. Since you happen to be the most important boy in her life, she's pretty hurt about it right now."

* * *

><p>Mercedes smiled as Lilly came running into the kitchen for her snack, her usual bouncy personality restored. She'd just finished her talk with her father and he walked in right behind her smiling sheepishly at his wife as he walked further into the room.<p>

"She looks happy," Mercedes observed. "The talk went well?"

Sam nodded and Mercedes waited for him to elaborate. "I told her I wasn't mad, just silly, which she seemed to accept pretty quickly," he said with a laugh. Mercedes smiled. "We have a date with Princess Tiana and some ice cream tonight."

Mercedes nodded, about to head over to the dining room table, where everyone was waiting, with the food when Sam spoke again, "I was thinking we could call Oliver's parents."

"Why would we do that?" Mercedes asked, already not wanting to know where this was going.

"I thought we could maybe set up a play date with him and Lilly. We could get to know him and his parents if they're going to be spending a lot of time together at school," Sam said and Mercedes knew he was thinking back to Cameron and Tyler and everything that had happened with their friend Andrew.

"Keep your enemies closer," Mercedes teased and Sam blushed.

He couldn't deny it. Oliver may have been four, but he wasn't going to get any slack from Sam.

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><p><strong>AN: **Sam has issues. **Did you like it? Please review.**


	26. The Force

**A/N**: LOL. You know he would. That's all I can I say about this one.

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><p>It'd been a dreadfully hot summer and the city had fallen victim to a wave of rolling blackouts over the last few days. Unfortunately, on this night, the luck of the draw had befallen the Evans clan, and they found themselves without power.<p>

As soon as the lights had gone out Sam had left the room where he'd been watching a movie with Cameron while Mercedes and Lillianna had been busy crafting the cover of a scrapbook that would hold all of Lilliana's memories from the upcoming year of first grade.

Lilliana clung to Mercedes' leg in fear as they both stood in the dark, while Cameron informed them of all the ways his life was over. "I can't play XBOX," he said. His volume rose slightly at his next realization, "Oh my God, I can't use the computer. OH MY GOD, Momma, we don't have internet!"

"Oh my God, calm down," Mercedes replied. "You will live. Get a hold of yourself."

Lilliana whimpered a bit as they stood a few more moments pitched in darkness and Mercedes assured her that her dad would be back soon. He was just headed in the kitchen to grab their blackout kit that she'd put together when the blackouts had first started.

After all, that's what any normal person would have done.

Sam Evans wasn't any normal person, however. Mercedes should have known better.

She looked on in disbelief, stunned into silence, when her husband rushed back into the room carrying two lightsabers. Lilliana didn't know what was happening and burrowed further into her mother's leg.

"I have something here for you," Sam said in his best Obi-Wan impression. "Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough."

"Genius!" Cameron commended, laughing as he took one of them from his father. Quickly he got into character and answered, "What is it?"

"This is the weapon of the Jedi Knight, an elegant weapon for a civilized age."

Mercedes' eyes took in the scene before her. Her brain said, 'you've _got_ to be kidding me', but she couldn't begin to make her mouth work as she watched Sam and Cameron hop up on the couch, quickly switching into the roles of two new characters so they could begin an epic battle.

How did they always end up here?

"Oh my goodness," Lilliana finally said against her mother's leg with a giggle as Sam and Cameron advanced toward one another menacingly.

The sight of their socked feet, which they'd been dragging around the house all day, on her furniture spurred Mercedes' brain back into action and compelled her voice to boom out, startling both Sam and Cameron.

"If you two don't get those dirty socks off of my couch right now…" Mercedes warned, letting her tone suffice as the end of her statement. She sent a withering glare their way, which was a hard task considering the entire room was pitch dark, except for the objects they held in their hands.

"Aw, come on, mom," Cameron started. "It's Star Wars."

"Unless it's Jesus himself, I don't care," Mercedes retorted. Neither of them dared argue after that and immediately jumped off the couch.

"Honestly, Sam? You went for the lightsabers first?" Mercedes asked.

He sent a sheepish grin her way and said, "The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded." Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Will one of you Jedis just please light the way to the kitchen?" She rolled her eyes again, and Lilliana laughed, as Sam and Cameron fought for the position and finally settled on sharing the responsibility.

Sam grabbed Mercedes' hand and escorted her to the kitchen, while Cameron picked up his sister.

After helping Mercedes set up the lamps in the living room, the boys disappeared, but not before wishing that the Force would be with both Mercedes and Lilliana. Mercedes just shook her head and giggled in disbelief with Lilliana before they returned to their scrapbooking.

Mercedes had to bite back a curse when a crashing sound echoed from down the hall, startling both her and Lilliana. "Sam!" she yelled and Lilliana tucked in her lips, her eyes opened wide in amusement as she took in the annoyed look on her mother's face. "That better not be anything of mine!" Mercedes warned.

It hadn't been, and she ignored him every minute of the next day when he complained about the loss of his limited edition Avatar shot glasses.

Looks like the Force had been a bit too strong. She told him as much and he side-eyed her as she laughed.

That's what he got.

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><p><strong>AN**: I had to cheer myself up from the other fic I wrote earlier and this happened. I hope you enjoyed it. **Please review!** :)


	27. Suits

**A/N**: I wanted to try and make amends for depressing the shit out of people earlier with Forever and Always. LOL.

* * *

><p>"Where are you going?" Mercedes asked, looking on in amusement from her spot on the bed as Sam walked into their bedroom, suited up in the most elaborate outfit she'd ever seen.<p>

He'd come in carrying the suit bag after coming home from his weekly bro night with Mike-but _actually_ their 'rest from pregnant wives night-and squirreled himself away in their walk-in closet.

She was finally getting to see what he'd been up to.

She let out a small laugh, setting down the iPad she'd been scrolling on the bed beside her, and taking in the black flowers embroidered on the sides of the white fabric of the suit jacket and the pants. She didn't miss the black cowboy boots on his feet, either. It was a bold choice, even for Sam who'd definitely thrown together some questionable outfits over the years.

Mercedes would never forget the purple Bieber hoodie, the infamous bolo tie, or the White Chocolate booty shorts that had made more than a few appearances during their time together.

And she certainly would _never_ forget the Frank Sinatra style fedora she couldn't convince him not to wear with his over the top 5-piece wedding suit. "Kurt says men look dashing in hats, 'Cede," he began. Kurt had appointed himself overseer of all things wedding from the moment they announced it. "I want to look dashing on my wedding day," Sam had told her-and who had the heart to deny that? Certainly not his bride to be.

She'd paid the photographer extra for a separate set of pictures for the hat, and everyone was happy.

Mercedes _couldn't wait_ to hear the story behind this.

"It's a new suit, baby," he said excitedly, running his hands over the suit jacket and smiling impossibly wide at her.

"I can see that," she said with an amused giggle, running her hand over her belly. "Where are you going with it?"

"Nowhere right _now_," Sam said, and she saw a sheepish smile creep along his lips which only intrigued her. Now she _had_ to hear this.

"Well, Mike and I were talking at dinner tonight," Sam started.

"Mhm," Mercedes prompted, already loving where this was going. Sam definitely had some pretty entertaining notions on his own, but whenever he got together with Mike, they just seemed to get even better.

"Having a kid is like a big deal, right? Like any time it's a big deal, but like, your firstborn is just a _huge_ deal, right?" he said, his eyes wide with excitement as he spoke. Mercedes nodded her head solemnly, struggling not to laugh. _He was so freaking cute!_

"So, we can't just wear like any old thing the day they're born. We're becoming fathers, we gotta look good," Sam continued. _Oh my Lord, _Mercedes thought. Her hand itched to pick up the phone and call Tina and her lips twitched with her stifled laughter.

"So you're going to wear that to the hospital whenever I go into labor?" Mercedes asked with a smile. She bit her lip right after the words left her mouth to keep her laughter from bursting forth.

"Yeah!" Sam said excitedly, turning around in his outfit to give his wife the full effect. "How do I look?" he asked, stopping his spinning to stand in front of her.

"Oh," Mercedes said, staring at the embroidered pattern at a genuine loss for words. "Uhhhm, definitely fatherly. _Very_ paternal," she said with a nod.

Sam seemed very pleased with that and kissed her before disappearing into the closet to change out of his suit. Never a dull moment.

Mercedes watched him go, pulling a pillow off the bed to cover her face. "Oh my God," she huffed out on a laugh and then she dissolved into giggles on the bed, thinking of the suit and cowboy boots.

Their son's birth was _definitely_ going to be eventful.

When she'd felt like she'd finally gotten herself under control, she pulled the pillow off of her face, glad Sam was still hidden away in the other room. She picked up her iPad again just as a message came in from Tina. "Really? LOL" the message read. A picture of Mike in a flashy gold suit followed and Mercedes was a goner all over again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: My uncle Pascal actually did something like this before my cousin Adrian was born. His outfit was silver, and my aunt ended up going into labor while they were out. Adrian was born pretty quickly after they got to the hospital, so Pascal didn't get to wear his outfit that day. LOL. He did wear it when they brought Adrian home. I just thought about it today and, like, _Sam totally would_. I hope you enjoyed. I know it doesn't make up for my evil cliffhanger, but I hope it made you smile. **Please leave a review.**


	28. Family Night

**A/N**: Lesson planning has pretty much eaten up my entire life. This first month of school has been rough, but hopefully I'll be able to get used to everything and back to my writing soon. I wrote this up quickly, though, so everyone would know I haven't abandoned things. I hope y'all enjoy. And PLEASE review, cause they are encouraging and keep me wanting to write.

* * *

><p>"I have to say," Mercedes mused slowly as she watched Channing Tatum delve into a speech about true love on the TV screen. Moments later she turned her attention from the television to address Sam and Cameron who sat in their living room with her for a family viewing of The Vow-Mercedes' pick, after two straight X-men family filled movie nights prior to this one.<p>

"If this movie were about me," she continued, popping a kernel of popcorn into her mouth. "It'd probably last about two seconds."

Sam hummed idly at the statement and turned his attention to his sleeping daughter who was draped across his chest. She'd spent the day fussy, battling a cold and refused to let go of her father, even when bedtime came. He'd taken her up to her room and everything, but she'd simply gotten back up, followed him down the stairs, and climbed into his lap again. Sam had been quick to appease her, content to hold his little girl as she slept peacefully in his arms.

He was just about to drop a kiss onto the six-year old's forehead when Mercedes continued, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"I mean, you open your eyes and Channing Tatum is sitting across from you telling you he's your husband. The other hour and a half of this movie are just excess. My movie would be done right there. Mrs. Tatum. The end." With that, she turned her attention back to the screen completely missing the perturbed look on Sam's face.

Cameron didn't and kept his eyes on his father for a moment longer, chuckling quietly, before turning back to the screen.

"Hi," Sam said, poking his wife in the side. Mercedes turned back to him with a warning glare. "I'm Sam. I'm your husband-sitting _right_ here. But, don't let me stop you, Mrs. _Tatum_."

Mercedes scoffed and waved him off, "I'm just saying. He gave me my VMA last year and..._damn_. He is hot as hell."

Sam remembered that VMA encounter well. She'd gone on and on for the next hour after she got back to her seat about how nice and charming _Channing_ was-all chummy and first name basis like. He rolled his eyes at the memory and poked her again.

"_Ow_," she said turning back to Sam and shoving his finger away. "What? I have eyes in my head, Sam. I can look."

"I beg to differ," Sam argued.

"Whatever. Like I didn't have to help you roll your tongue back into your head when we bumped into Halle Berry at the airport that one time."

Sam blushed and struggled to find words.

"Yup," Mercedes said, with a knowing nod. "I could practically see all your little Storm fantasies running around your head. I saw and I said nothing."

"That's different, though," Sam argued weakly, shifting Lilly in his arms.

"How?" Mercedes challenged.

"That's not even what we're talking about," Sam evaded. "We're talking about you and—."

"Will y'all please lock your lips?" Cameron interrupted with a frustrated groan. Lilly stirred slightly at the noise, but only burrowed her head further into Sam chest before her movements stopped again.

Sam and Mercedes immediately turned their attention to their son.

"We're supposed to be watching a movie here and it's not about the two of you. I can't hear a word," he huffed and turned to the screen.

"Okay, Grumpy," Mercedes said settling back into the couch.

"He's just mad he lost at Monopoly earlier," Sam offered innocently, dropping a kiss onto Lilly's hair and running his fingers gently down her arm.

"It's not losing if y'all cheated," Cameron protested in a matter-of-fact tone. He didn't even turn his head from the screen. He'd been repeating the same thing since his unfair loss earlier that evening.

"We didn't cheat," Mercedes insisted, offended by the accusation.

"Merging all of your assets to form a conglomerate is cheating," Cameron informed her. "No matter how cute you thought it was to name yourselves Samcedes Inc," Cameron huffed, still annoyed at the memory of his parents gleefully bankrupting him as they put up hotels all over their joint properties. Together, they'd turned the whole board into a minefield. Even Baltic and Mediterranean were put a strain on his cash flow. He'd been selling properties right and left just to survive. He'd known it was bad when he was actually glad one of the community chest cards sent him straight to jail.

"How is it cheating to form a monopoly in Monopoly?" Sam asked. "Besides, I tried to partner with you for SCam Operations. All you had to do was give up Park Place as a sign of good faith and we would have been on our way, but you were ever so stubborn and foolish," Sam said, finishing his sentence in C-3PO's voice.

"Just you wait until next week. I'm gonna get Tyler to come and y'all can't gang up on me," Cameron mumbled. TyCam Co. was going to run shit. Samcedes would be paying him back for all they'd put him through tonight. With that, he turned his attention back to the screen, already picturing his revenge.

Sam and Mercedes turned back to the movie as well. All was quiet until Sam turned to Mercedes and asked, "You think he has better abs than me?"

Cameron sighed, rolled his eyes, and turned the volume up louder. Never again would Channing Tatum grace their screens during another family night if they'd have to go through this every time.

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><p><strong>AN**: Family time with Samcedes and kids. Lol. I hope you liked it! Let me know! :)


	29. Are You Okay?

"Are you okay?" Sam whispered into his wife's ear in the dark movie theater where they sat. He reached out a hand to gently rub her extremely pregnant belly.

"53," was Mercedes' reply. She didn't even turn her head away from the screen, where the thriller they'd been watching was at its most intense scene yet. She already knew the worried expression he'd be sporting and she wasn't about to miss the villain administering a beat down so she could convince Sam she was alright—_again_.

"What?" Sam asked, confused. He eyed her warily, as he'd been doing for the last few days. She'd had a few pains that felt like contractions earlier that week and Sam, who'd been cool and collected her entire pregnancy, had officially started to unravel then.

He'd immediately carted her overnight bag into the car then had come back for her, leading her in breathing exercises the entire way. He'd gripped her hand tightly and Mercedes had wondered who the breathing exercises were helping more as she took in his nervous expression.

It'd all been all for naught in the end, as the doctor had revealed it'd been a false alarm. Mercedes had barely been over 1cm dilated, nowhere near ready to go into labor. The entire event had done it for Sam, however, and he'd been a worrywart ever since, fussing over her at every turn—"Do you need anything? Are you sure? Maybe a glass of water? How about a snack? Do you wanna lie down? A massage? Are you okay? Are you okay? Are you okay?" She'd even found herself humming Smooth Criminal a few times in the last couple of days as a result.

Mercedes had counted 52 'are you okays' since that day, until the one he'd just uttered.

"53?" Sam prompted at her continued silence.

"The number of times you've asked me if I'm okay this week," Mercedes said, finally turning to look at him. "52 of which I've told you I'm _fine_," Mercedes said drawing out the last word.

"And what's your answer _this_ time?" Sam asked.

Mercedes wanted to groan, but she took in the genuinely nervous expression and sighed. "I'm fine, Sam. Stop worrying," she said reaching forward to cup his cheek and pressing her lips to his briefly.

He opened his mouth to speak again. Mercedes was sure an 'are you sure' was on the way, but he seemed to decide and against it and settled for putting his arm around her, pulling her in close as he turned back to the movie. She covered his hand that still rested on her belly with her hand and turned back to the film as well.

As frustrating as his worrying was at times, she understood how much of a stressful situation this was for him. He wasn't physically having the baby—the thought made her giggle—but this was all just as irrevocably life-changing for him as it was for her. Truth be told, she appreciated the fact that he took such care of her, even if he did tend to overdo it.

Mike wasn't even in town to help Sam keep his stress levels down. His best friend had taken off that week to choreograph Beyonce's performance for the upcoming VMAs and wasn't scheduled to be back until late that night. It couldn't have been worse timing with everything going on. Sam really needed his calming influence.

She was just about to squeeze his hand affectionately when she felt it, and she gasped. This had been her worst nightmare since she'd gotten to the later stages of her pregnancy and her bladder had gone a bit unstable with the added pressure. She couldn't believe she'd peed her pants even the little bit that she had. She pulled away from Sam, telling him she had to use the bathroom—not even stopping to side-eye him when he asked if he should go along.

She stood up and gasped as she felt more leaking. Embarrassed, she sprinted as fast as a 9 month pregnant woman could sprint to the bathroom, thanking the lord for her dark colored pants as the leaking turned to a full out flow by the time she reached the bathroom.

She was thankful to find the restrooms empty and immediately entered a stall. The trickle stopped as soon as she sat and Mercedes rolled her eyes. Honestly, all of that and when she finally was in the right place, her bladder had decided it was done. She sighed and stood up, only to have the leak start again.

Sitting down, it stopped. Mercedes tried this several times with the same results. She couldn't leave the bathroom, and she'd dumbly forgotten to take her purse with her when she ran so she couldn't call Sam. She was pretty sure she knew what was happening and she was mortified.

In her distress, she didn't even notice the time ticking by as she tried to figure out what to do. It wasn't until she heard a woman come inside and call her name that she calculated how long she must have been gone.

"Mrs. Evans?" the woman called. "Mercedes Evans?"

"I'm in here," Mercedes said from her stall, not daring to come out.

"Um, I'm Lisa. I work here at the theater. There's a gentlemen outside, his name is Sam. He said his really pregnant wife had to go to the bathroom and she never came back. He's pretty worried. He'd like to know if you're okay."

"Um," Mercedes started weakly. "I know it's against your policy, but the room's empty. Could you let him come in for a moment? I think something's wrong."

She heard nothing but the sound of the door opening and closing for a moment. The sound repeated again and then Sam's frantic voice filled the room, calling her name, only breaking his panic to comment on how clean the ladies' room was in comparison to the mens'.

"Sam," Mercedes called out, pulling his attentions away from the cleanliness of the restroom and to more important matters—like the fact that she was pretty sure she was about to deliver her firstborn in the bathroom of a movie theater. The idea was not appealing, no matter how clean the rooms actually were.

She could already hear the lead ins on the news. 'Movie goers were in for a real double feature tonight as Pop/R&B starlet Mercy J. delivered her firstborn in the theater bathroom. We'll have that story for you at the top of the hour.' No. Mercedes shuddered at the thought. She refused!

Sam was at the door in an instant and Mercedes unlatched it so he could come inside. "Babe," he said looking in on her in askance. He took in the panicked look on her face and immediately sported a matching expression. "What's wrong?"

"Okay, don't freak out. I think my water just broke," Mercedes said as calmly as she could, not wanting a repeat of that morning. Getting out of here and to the hospital relied on Sam being able to maintain his sanity.

"Oh my God," Sam said, his eyes immediately widening to the size of saucers. "Oh my God." She would have laughed at Sam's startled expression if not for the baby possibly making its way into the world at that very moment. She was losing him and she couldn't have that.

"I said don't freak out!" she hissed. "You have to help me out of here and get me to the hospital. I'm not having a baby here!"

Sam gulped, but got himself under control. His face was a flurry of emotions as she went on to explain what she'd been experiencing the last few moments. Thankfully, he'd seemingly settled on courageous by the time she was finished, and helped her up.

The uncomfortable trickling started up again and Mercedes resolved herself for the walk of shame she was going to have to make out of the theater. A few tweets about how Mercy J. might have peed her pants was a lot less embarrassing than a national headline. She'd been dreading this happening in public ever since she and Tina had discussed water-breaking with the women at Lamaze class and she couldn't believe it was.

They emerged from the bathroom and Mercedes was mortified to find a small group of employees and disgruntled women who'd been kept from the room staring at them. As if her wet pants hadn't been embarrassing enough, her shoes squished loudly with every step she took and she could definitely see the murmurs growing as people started to recognize who she was.

Thankfully, Sam went into protection mode, shielding his wife from unwanted pictures and escorting her as quickly as he could out to the car. Once there, he laid out the blanket they usually kept in the trunk on the passenger seat and helped her sit. "Are you okay?" he asked her and she granted him this one quarter.

"Yes, baby. I'm fine, but I'm not having the baby in the parking lot either," she said, giggling when he broke out into a chuckle. He kissed her quickly and looked at her for a brief moment and Mercedes could see the full spectrum of emotions that played across his face. She squeezed his hand reassuringly then sat back as he let go and closed the door, making his way around to the driver's seat and climbing in.

Mercedes focused on her breathing, rubbing her belly as she waited for Sam to start the car. She waited...waited...and waited some more before she realized that Sam had gone completely silent and still after he closed the car door. Her eyes snapped to his face, ready to chew him out—she really wasn't about to have her baby in the parking lot of Movieworld—but the look of terror on his face coupled with the knuckle-whitening death grip he held on the steering wheel gave her pause.

She softened immediately, reaching for his hand, prying it off the steering wheel and running her thumb gently over his knuckles. "Hey," she whispered, winning his attention from the brooding thoughts in his head. "Are you okay?" she asked, echoing the same question he'd been asking her the last few days.

He stared at her in silence for a moment, his piercing green eyes searching her face for a long moment before he broke out into a crooked grin. "This is it," he said quietly.

Mercedes couldn't contain her resulting smile, despite the twinges of pain now emanating from her belly. She put it aside for a moment, determined to share the moment with him. "Yup," she said with a quiet giggle, running her fingers through his blond hair. "Ready or not."

"I'm ready," he assured her propelling his face forward to place an affectionate kiss on her lips. "I love you so much," he professed against her lips and Mercedes' immediate requite of that sentiment was swallowed in their next kiss.

"Okay," Mercedes said, pulling away suddenly after a moment, as a particularly painful contraction ripped through her. "We gotta go."

The panic was back in Sam's gaze as she bore down on his hand and breathed through it. "Now!" Mercedes ordered and Sam got the car started in an instant.

Mercedes breathed harshly through her nose as they started barreling toward the hospital and the epidural that she'd already made the doctor promise to after a particularly grueling day of watching birthing videos with Tina that had resulted in a lot of tears and both girls assuring their husbands that sex would be cancelled until further notice after that—Mike and Sam had obviously been the ones shedding the bulk of the tears after that revelation.

"Are you o—?"

"Don't!" Mercedes cut Sam off before he even started.

"Okay," Sam said. "That's indication enough," he said nodding harshly and breathing through the death grip Mercedes currently had on his hand.

Mercedes went back to focusing on even breaths, exhaling in a whoosh as the pain finally subsided for a moment.

"SHIT!" Sam exclaimed suddenly, startling them both.

"What?" Mercedes asked—seeing no cause for his sudden outburst and the crushed look on his face as he drove on.

"I'm not wearing my suit," he told her in all seriousness and Mercedes couldn't even contain it.

Her raucous laughter rang through the car for the entirety of the following three minutes—until the next contraction hit.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Cam is coming and Sam is not wearing his embroidered suit! The horror. No worries—if you were worried at all lol—there will be a part two...um, at some point. Leave me a review if you liked this...cause I like them. What do you think will happen next? Alls I gotta say is Cam is not the only one and Sam is in for it.


	30. Mine

Sam scooted back from his workspace, not even bothering to contain the yawn that gasped out of him. He lifted his arms above his head, hearing his bones shift slightly and feeling the satisfying stretch of his tired muscles. He'd been working all day—and now _well_ into the evening. He couldn't wait for the bliss that came with letting himself drop into bed, snuggling up to his wife, and eventually falling into the sweetest dreams.

He trudged down the hallway towards his bedroom, each tiredly heavy step sounding on the hardwood floors. If he was lucky, his son would already be asleep and Mercedes would be up for a little private time before Morpheus came to call him to the Land of Dreams. The thought propelled him faster, putting a little pep in his step as he ambled onward.

The bedroom was lit by the wavering glow of the television and Sam could make out Mercedes' and Cameron's forms on the bed. The scene was cute—Lion King played on unbeknownst to the two who had conked out at some point before Sam came in. Cameron lay on top of his mother, his head pillowed on her chest and his body perfectly cocooned in her arms. His red Superman pajamas starkly contrasted the white nightshirt she wore and his little arms were strewn around her torso.

He looked comfortable—it was too bad he'd have to move. Sam wanted that spot.

All Sam could think about were his best laid plans. He was so close. All he'd have to do is move Cameron into his crib. Then, his bed would be void of anything but his wife and the spot he coveted would be waiting to welcome him. It'd be simple.

Or, so he thought—but, Cameron apparently had plans, too. As soon as Sam lifted the 20-month old out of his veritable nest, all hell broke loose. What started out as an inconvenienced whine soon transitioned into incensed squealing and squirming. Cameron was _not_ having it.

Sam's eyes widened in shock as Cameron kicked out viciously, near-screaming. The word 'no' emanated from the riled child in various tones— irritation at the root of all of them. 'No' was one of the few words Cameron knew and he was using it for all it was worth, but he soon grew tired of speaking and his face completely crumpled before he let out the loudest wail Sam had ever heard. Real tears streamed down the toddler's face as his father held on precariously to his little wiggling body.

Sam let go of his irate son, stunned at the events of the last couple of minutes. He watched as Cameron settled back onto a now awake and giggling Mercedes. "Mine!" Cameron said, using another one of the few words he knew. He gave his father a hard, affronted glare before laying his head back onto his mother's chest and bringing his thumb into his mouth.

Sam could only stare in surprise as Mercedes wrapped an arm around Cameron once again. The other one she raised to her mouth to muffle the near-guffaws bursting out of her.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked after a moment, sitting on the bed. Mercedes' giggles still hadn't quieted and she didn't even try to answer him. Sam stared at his now placated son, laughing slightly before he pushed at Cameron's diaper-clad bottom.

Cameron's free hand fisted the fabric of Mercedes' nightshirt in response—holding on tightly, as if he fully intended to battle this out. "Mine, mine, mine," Cameron said lowly—warningly.

Sam sent his wife a look of astonishment as she threw her head back with no hope of stopping the loud laughter bubbling out of her. "This isn't funny," he told her, even as his chuckles laced his statement. "It was mine first—years before you even came along, you usurper," he told Cameron. He couldn't blame his son exactly, but it didn't mean he had to like it. Sam poked his hand at Cameron's diaper again.

"No," came Cameron's tiny command.

Sam's look became resolute and he ignored Mercedes' continued giggles as he pushed Cameron over. The toddler fell over Mercedes' side with a soft thud onto the bed. "Simba, I'm very disappointed in you," Sam told his son, affecting Mufasa's voice. He huffed out a sheepish laugh as Mercedes slapped his shoulder, squealing, "Fool!" before falling apart again. Despite himself, Cameron giggled and hid his smiling face into his mother's belly.

Soon, however, he whined at his unceremonious dethroning. But he could do nothing about it as Sam took up Mercedes' right side for himself and maturely stuck his tongue out at his son. Cameron stared at his father for a long moment before he simply closed his eyes and burrowed his head further into Mercedes' belly, taking up the left side.

"Funny how no asked _me_ about these sleeping arrangements," Mercedes commented after a quiet moment. "Everyone comfy?"

Sam pouted slightly and watched her giggle again at his expression, his plans well and truly thwarted. "He goes to his own room tomorrow. He can squeeze Captain America," Sam grumbled, even as he ran his finger gently into Cameron's curls. "He starts claiming real estate on this bed, it's time to go," Sam explained at Mercedes' raised eyebrow.

He silenced Mercedes' resultant laughter with a kiss before shutting off the movie as Hakuna Matata came to end. He smiled as Mercedes shifted, laying Cameron on his side. She wrapped an arm around her son then followed suit, allowing Sam to wrap an arm around them both. This was apparently as good as Sam was going to get tonight—but he was okay with this, too.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** These are the things I write on my rides home from work a.k.a. the only free time I have these days. I miss free time. I promised myself I wouldn't be self-deprecating here, so off I go. Leave me a review if it please you.


	31. Bittersweet

"I miss you already," Sam said quietly, his face buried into Mercedes' neck. He felt her squeeze her arms around his waist even tighter and took a moment to breathe her in, knowing it'd be one of the last times he got to do it for a while. In a few minutes, he'd have to pull away and let her through her security check-point. After that, she'd be gone for a month and the empty pillow next to him on their bed would be his only faint reminder until she came back to him.

He figured they made a pitiful picture, clinging to each other so desperately—cherishing every last second they had before it was time to let go. Their five year old son only added to that portrait, draped around his mother's leg, pouting slightly as he looked around at the people milling about the airport.

Mercedes was just about to head off on a four-week world tour, and while the prospect of her career soaring even higher as she entertained the crowds that came from all over the world to see her was exciting beyond words, at this point, it was wife and mommy leaving husband and baby behind—and _that_ just sucked all around.

"I wish you didn't have to go," Sam said, pulling back slightly to look at Mercedes. "I mean, who cares about a career, right? You could just stay here and we could make more Camerons?" He waggled his eyebrows and smiled at her—his grin downright scandalous.

Mercedes barked out a short laugh at that, pushing at his shoulder playfully. "As lovely as _that_ sounds, I think the Cameron we already have is enough." Cameron perked up at the sound of his name, looking up at his parents questioningly. Mercedes smiled down at him, pinching his cheek before turning back to Sam, "But I do wish I could stay."

"Stay then," Sam said enticingly, looking into Mercedes' eyes for a moment before he kissed her.

"I'd only have to pay the label back a few million dollars," Mercedes joked a bit breathlessly when they'd pulled out of their kiss.

"And disappoint about a million people," Sam added. Mercedes giggled softly before she turned to look at Cameron again. As much as it pained her, she was running out of time. She sighed a little before starting her goodbye with him.

Kneeling to his level, she took his pouting face into her hands. "Alright, little man. I have to go," she said as firmly as she could, already feeling the separation anxiety. "I'll be back before you know it. You be good for daddy while I'm gone, just like we talked about," she told him, her heart breaking at the sight of his tears welling up.

"Hey, none of that sweetheart," she said pulling him in for a hug, burying her face into his neck to keep her own tears at bay. "Remember what I said?" she asked him, thinking back to their cuddle session just that morning where she'd tried to do as much as she could to appease his troubles about her leaving.

She'd made sure to leave a framed picture of their little family on his nightstand. She'd taught him her cell phone number so he could call her every day. She'd sat with him and Sam and talked to him about Skyping so they'd see each other often. She'd even gone as far as to give him a new teddy bear to hold for his bedtime song. All he had to do was squeeze the bear's belly and her voice would pour out of it as often as he wanted to sing him to sleep.

"I 'member," Cameron said quietly. "Four Fridays until you're back."

Mercedes smiled against Cameron's shoulder when he echoed her words. The smile turned into a full out giggle when he went on. "And don't let daddy near the toolbox 'cause he might break the house. And 'mind him to sep'rate the colors from the whites so he don't turn my clothes pink like last time."

Mercedes could hear Sam's affronted spluttering behind her and squealed when he bent down and tickled her. "You said you were in there getting him ready!"

"I _was_—ready to survive my absence," Mercedes joked, standing and moving away from Sam as he still tried to tickle her. Cameron laughed watching them, but then seemed to catch himself and pouted at his Converse clad feet.

Sam thankfully let up and Mercedes went back to consoling her son. "It's four Fridays, baby," she said. "I'll be right back and we'll talk every day. We can even have breakfast for dinner night the day I get back. How's that sound?" Cameron perked up a bit, smiling crookedly at his mom.

"Can momma get a big hug and kiss to last four Fridays?" Cameron practically knocked his mother over with his hug and kiss, squeezing her as tightly as he could. She could hear Sam chuckling behind them.

"I think momma's good for life after that one," Sam joked, when Cameron stepped back. Cameron smiled sheepishly up at his dad as Mercedes stood up, readying to say goodbye to Sam.

"You just wait until you get home," Sam told her, stepping closer to her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I'm gonna pounce on your face like Aragorn did Arwen's in the last Lord of the Rings."

Mercedes giggled. She'd always thought that kiss was awkward as hell. Aragorn really went in—and with that whole crowd of people there, too. "Mmm, can't wait," she said smiling, even as she shook her head at Sam. Of course he'd reference Lord of the Rings right then. He was forever a dork and she loved every bit of it.

They kissed then, allowing themselves a brief moment to get carried away—enjoying the simple luxury of being able to attach themselves to one another this way. All too soon, however, the moment ended. Mercedes was the first to pull away as her cell phone buzzed in her pocket—most likely her assistant checking on her progress.

"I have to go," she said quietly, smiling up at Sam. He only nodded, squeezing her briefly before letting her go. She stepped back quickly, watching him pick Cameron up and look back to her. It literally broke her heart to see them there together, knowing she'd have to turn around and walk away shortly. "I'll miss you both. Take care of each other." She was stalling now and she knew it.

"We'll miss you, too," Sam said, then chuckled when she rushed forward again and threw her arms around them both.

"I'll call as soon as I land or we can even Skype on the plane. I think it has wi-fi," Mercedes rambled on. "And you have all of my numbers. I'll leave the phones on all the time. I don't care where I am or what I'm doing, I'll pick up," she added and Sam could tell she was thinking of the disastrous twelve-week tour she'd tried when Cameron was only one. This would be her first extended overseas tour after that and she was nervous.

"We'll be fine," he reassured her. "And if not, I could always just surprise you again," he added with a grin.

Mercedes pushed his shoulder and smiled a bit sadly. "I love you both."

"I love you," Sam said kissing her one last time.

"Love you, momma," came Cameron's little voice from beside them. Mercedes collected his face between her hands once again and kissed his nose.

"Bye, Cammy—and Sammy," she added with a small laugh, grabbing her bag finally and beginning to back away from them. It was another moment before she could turn away from them and head toward the security line. She smiled sadly when she looked back and saw Sam's form retreating toward the exits. Cameron was held in his arms, his green eyes still trained on her. She waved at him and signed, 'I love you', smiling when he returned the gestures. That had been another moment they shared during their cuddle session. She was going to miss them both so much.

It only took about twenty minutes for her to clear security and she was relieved when she finally got to her gate, dropping gratefully into a chair in the waiting room. She opened her wallet to tuck her items back inside, smiling when she saw the pictures she usually kept in there—a picture of a smiling Cameron from that year's first day of school. His blond curls fell every which way and his pink lips spread from ear to ear with his wide smile. The next was a picture of Cameron, Sam, and her, a candid taken by Tina at Tyler and Cameron's fourth birthday party the year before. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she took in all of their happy faces. The next was a picture of her and Sam from their wedding day, oddly enough one in which he was wearing his ridiculous fedora. She was smiling brightly at the camera, but Sam's eyes were closed altogether as he delivered a kiss to her cheek. The last picture was of her and Cameron about a month after he was born. Cameron was asleep in her arms and she was leaning in to kiss his nose. The look on her face was one of pure adoration. Sam had been the one to take it, teasing her about how obsessed she was with her baby boy.

Mercedes closed the wallet with a sigh, reaching to put it back in her purse when she noticed the glint of a colorful ribbon that she didn't remember placing there that morning. Dropping the wallet, she pulled on the bag the ribbon was attached to and smiled at Cameron's scribble on the little handmade card tied there.

**"Momma,**

**I'm sad you have to go. Daddy helped me make cookies so you'd remember us. I tried to make them just like yours. I will miss you a lot.**

**Love, Cammy"**

Mercedes swiped at the tears that had started to fall by the time she got to the bottom of the little card. She lifted the little bag of cookies, opening them up and pulling one out. She full on started laughing when she tasted the first of the cookies.

She pulled out her phone as the announcement rang out that the plane was about to board. She'd have just enough time to thorougly tease Sam about mixing up the salt and sugar containers before she had to board.

She missed them already.

* * *

><p>"Come on, little man," Sam said, holding Cameron's hand as they walked through the front doors at home. He watched as Cameron trudged inside, looking around the house a little forlornly—his usual boisterousness nowhere to be found. Normally, he'd run into the house ahead of his parents chattering the whole way—but not today.<p>

Today Cameron walked slowly into the living room, dropping himself onto the couch. He stared into space when he got there, the pout he'd been sporting since the airport still present.

Sam dropped next to him and pulling Cam closer. The house was different—without her voice filling the house as she sang along to the radio in the kitchen, without her laugh bursting out randomly, without her smile to light up the room, without her hugs to make everything better—and it ached seeing her things all around, knowing she wouldn't be back for a while. "I miss her, too, bud," Sam said simply and smiled when Cameron simply laid his head on his arm.

"Wanna eat a bunch of snickerdoodles and watch Star Wars?" Sam suggested and Cameron turned eyes wide with awe at his father. His mother barely let him eat two snickerdoodles a day—definitely never a bunch. He hesitated uncertainly. "Just this once. I won't tell if you won't," Sam prompted. He didn't have to tell Cameron twice. The five year old quickly nodded his agreement and hopped off the couch, leading the way to the kitchen.

The rest of the day went on without a hitch, the two Evans men cheering themselves and each other up with a junk food binge and sci-fi marathon. The Skype session they'd had with Mercedes when she got to her hotel in London had also worked to bring their spirits back up. It wasn't until bedtime that they felt her absence again.

Sam had tucked Cameron in, reading him a bedtime story before he headed to his room. He found it hard to will himself to sleep, feeling his wife's absence. He'd hoped Cameron was faring better and was surprised when the little boy wandered into his room, clutching the bear Mercedes had given him in his arms.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked and Cameron shook his head. Sam waved him over and Cameron gratefully climbed into his mom's spot, still holding on tightly to his bear. Sam threw a bit of the blanket over for Cameron to snuggle into and moved closer to him as well, gently running his hand into Cameron's curls. They lay quietly for a moment, taking comfort in each other's presence, before Cameron pressed the bear's belly. Suddenly Mercedes' soft voice filled the room with a lullaby of Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) by the Dixie Chicks which effectively lulled both of her boys to sleep.

Across the sea, even as she entertained a sold out crowd inside the O2 Arena, Mercedes sat on stage thinking of them, too, as she sang the same song to the packed house—the crowd getting a special treat as a few pictures of their little family flashed on the huge screens around her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I don't know why I wrote this. Honestly, I was just watching Lord of the Rings and this came out. And the Dixie Chicks song made me cry. Now I'm kinda sad. I hope you liked it, even if you're kinda sad now, too. **Leave me a review?**


	32. No Sleep

A muffled groan sounded in the space next to her, and Mercedes turned her head from the book she'd been enthralled in to regard Sam and Cameron and the chuckle bubbled out of her almost instantly. Sam was conked—out for the count after a particularly grueling workout session with Mike earlier that day—and Cameron was leaning over his father. The one-year old's big green eyes peered at Sam's face curiously as he slept with his lips slightly parted—snoring softly.

"Leave your dad alone," Mercedes warned, gently pulling Cameron away from Sam just as Cameron reached out a little finger to hook into Sam's plump bottom lip.

"Daddy?" Cameron said as Mercedes brought him into her lap. He looked at her, his eyes still wide as he said the word.

Mercedes laughed and nodded. "Yeah, Daddy. He's tired. Leave him alone." With that, she kissed Cameron's cheek, returning him to his spot on the bed, before she turned her attention back to her book.

It was only a moment before Mercedes' attention was drawn away from her read and back to her family. "Cameron, _stop_," she said with another giggle, pulling him away again. He'd gotten his prize this time and held Sam's bottom lip between two fingers, stretching it as Mercedes pulled him away. Sam let out a slightly louder snore as Cameron was forced to let go, and his lip snapped back into place. He mumbled in his sleep, but went right on sleeping after that.

Mercedes looked at Cameron who was still staring at his sleeping dad. "Leave him alone, little man. He's gonna get you if you wake him up," Mercedes warned, laughing as Cameron turned to her with a grin and planted a kiss on her chin. "Stop, okay? Be good," she said, wanting to get back to her book. She dropped a kiss into his messy head of curls and put him back on the bed.

She watched him for a few seconds as he puttered around quietly on the bed. He'd seemed to find something other than his dad's face to entertain him for the time being, so she went back to her book, settling in for a particularly riveting passage.

It wasn't until she heard another muffled groan that she turned her attention back to her family. "Cameron—," she started, exasperated, but it turned into a full out guffaw at what she saw.

Cameron had managed to maneuver himself into a standing position and was currently using Sam's face as a floor mat. That in itself would have been cause for some giggling, but what killed Mercedes was the look that said 'what in the hell is happening right now' that currently occupied Sam's now awake face—all this while his face was smushed by two little feet.

"A little help," Sam said and Mercedes managed to move Cameron, even through her laughter. "Sorry," Mercedes said. "I tried—I told him not to." Sam sat up as she pulled him and poked Cameron. He giggled as Mercedes brought him into her lap, not staying there for even a moment before he was reaching for Sam again.

"Aw, he just wants to play with you," she said, letting him go. The second she did, he was across the small space separating her from Sam and standing in his father's lap, using Sam's shoulders as leverage.

"I'm awake. What, you silly goose?" Sam asked, training expectant eyes on Cameron. Mercedes' heart melted as Cameron lurched forward, throwing his arms around Sam's head, and hugging him. She giggled softly as he patted his dad's hair. Sam's large hand returned the gesture, patting Cameron's back as Cameron babbled.

Cameron pulled back a moment later and sat his dad's lap. Sam yawned wide then, lying back on the headboard.

By then, Cameron had moved on to his next activity, no longer interested in Sam. He turned his attention to Sam's iPhone which was next to them on the bed, climbing off of Sam and amusing himself with every colorful button he could push.

"Unbelievable," Sam said watching his son. He was now wide awake and Cameron was unconcerned about it. "Hey babe," he said turning to Mercedes really excitedly.

Mercedes turned to him, pulling her attention away from her book again. "Mm," she intoned letting him know he had her attention.

"Remember naps?" he asked her. "Those were so awesome. Naps are a thing of the past in this house. We should bring them back."

Mercedes did remember naps. She and Sam had shared some pretty epic ones along the years—sleeping next to each other after those particularly grueling days or just curling up together on those rare lazy days at home. She also remembered becoming a mom, however, and that had put an end to all napping action.

"Hey, I'm in the same boat. Talk to your son about that," she said with a laugh, turning back to her book. "I haven't had a successful nap in months."

She'd only managed to read about three words before she felt Sam's head on her shoulder and his eyes looking up at her. She sighed. She remembered when she could get through a good book without interruption, too—the last time had been before she and Sam started dating.

"What?" she asked him, smirking at him as he batted tired eyelids at her. She bent to kiss him quickly and giggled when he leaned over further and fitted his head onto her lap. She went back to her book, running her fingers through his hair. His breathing soon evened out again and she knew he'd fallen asleep again.

She looked over at Cameron who still puttered with his dad's iPhone quietly next to them. She smiled before she turned her attention back to her book, glad to finally get through it without interruption—well, at least until Tina iMessaged Mercedes a little while later, wondering if Sam was okay because he'd been sending her some strange texts for the past few minutes.

Mercedes looked at Cameron, happily pushing buttons, and dropped her head into her palm.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** More stuff I write on the ride home from work. They wouldn't be a family if they didn't have these random ass moments lol, just being in the same room and bugging the hell out of each other. I used to do stuff like that to my parents all the time. Still do. It's fun to mess with them. Anyway, please **REVIEW** if you liked it! Would love to hear from you.


	33. Get Cool, Boy

Sam opened his front door, shocked to take in Tina's disheveled appearance. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun, her eyes puffy and red, as she held on to her screaming six-month old son. His eyes dipped, scoping out the rest of her outfit. A huge puffy coat, covering up her still pajama clad body, and obnoxiously yellow slippers with smiley faces on them finished off the look.

Sam's mind had gone into a frenzy when the doorbell rang suddenly in the middle of the night, thinking something was gravely wrong. He'd been sure he was about to receive some really bad news and the sight before him didn't appease his panic any.

"Tina, what's going on?" he asked, quickly ushering Tina and Tyler in and closing the door behind them, before leading them into the living room. Mercedes, who'd been waiting for word from Sam upstairs, came barreling down at the sound of her best friend's name, her worry etched clearly on her face as she looked at her and Tyler, who still went on crying.

"Is Mike okay?" was the first question out of Mercedes' mouth and she and Sam both breathed a small sigh of relief at the nod of Tina's head. Mike had reluctantly left for a three-week for a work trip and wouldn't be back for another few days. Tina wasn't focused on them, however. She'd already turned her attention back to her son, who still hadn't stopped crying.

"Come on, Tyler," Tina pleaded, through another round of tears. "He's been fussy all day," Tina said, turning to her friends. "He won't stop crying. I don't know what to do!"

"Does he have a fever or has he been coughing or throwing up?" Mercedes asked, moving closer to Tina and running her hand gently over the fussy baby's forehead.

"No," Tina answered, her bewilderment clearly showing on her face. "I-I don't know. Everything's been normal. I don't think he's sick. He just hasn't been himself."

"What do you mean?" Mercedes asked.

"I just-he hasn't been eating the same. That's never been a problem before. You know. He eats everything. And today, he was just so fussy and moody. He hasn't been sleeping that well at night. Mike usually puts him to bed and he's out like a light after that," Tina said as Sam reached for Tyler.

He brought the baby to his chest, beginning to hum softly to him. Tina and Mercedes watched in amazement as the action started to soothe the baby a little bit.

"Did you try calling Mike?" Sam asked.

"What?" Tina asked a little distractedly as she moved closer to Sam and cooed at Tyler, trying to get him to calm down more. "He had rehearsals all day today. We only spoke for a little bit. I didn't want to worry him."

"I think you should call him," Sam suggested and Mercedes nodded in agreement. Tina turned her attention to Sam and Mercedes, staring at them a little confusedly.

"I don't want to worry him. He's all the way in New York. There's not much he can do to help. Maybe I should just take Ty to the doctor," Tina suggested, looking at Tyler warily. "Maybe it's like a stomachache or something I can't see."

"Tina," Mercedes said, reaching a hand out to squeeze her friend's shoulder. "Maybe he just misses his dad."

"Can babies do that?" Tina asked. "Miss someone?"

"Sure," Sam answered. "You said yourself, he usually puts him to bed. He's practically glued onto him all day when he's home. He probably just misses his face and his voice," Sam said. "Cam got fussy, too, when Mercedes was gone for a couple of days last month. Just try it. How long has he been 'not himself'?"

Tina took a quick second to think back and then her jaw dropped open with realization. "It, um-since a couple days after he left."

"Call him," Sam insisted.

Tina was on the phone a few seconds later, smiling sadly at Mike's sleepy voice when he picked up. "Baby? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"No," Tina said. As if on cue, Tyler let out his loudest cry yet. "Um, well, not really."

"Care to elaborate?" Mike asked, suddenly sounding a lot more alert. "I'm kinda havin' a heart attack over here."

"He won't stop crying," Tina blurted.

"I'll be on the next flight back," Mike answered.

"What?" Tina asked, startled. "No. Baby, I just think you need to talk to him."

"What?" Mike asked.

"He just-I think he needs to hear your voice," Tina said. "I'm over at Sam's and Mercedes'. We think he misses you."

"Can babies do that?" Mike asked, echoing Tina's earlier question and making her laugh.

A few seconds later, Sam was rocking Tyler as he walked around the living room. Tyler was snuggled into Sam's chest as Mike sang Tyler an impromptu lullaby of 'Cool' from West Side Story over the speakerphone. Tina sat with Mercedes' arms around her on the couch, crying tears of relief as her baby finally quieted and followed the lull of his dad's voice right into his dreams. Sam kept right on humming low in chest after Mike had finished and asked to speak to Tina. He knew the rumble would be a comfort to Tyler. It always worked with Cameron.

Right on cue, Cameron's fussy whines made themselves known on the baby monitor in the living room.

"Let me," Sam said quietly, waving Mercedes, who'd already gotten up, back toward her seat. Still, Mercedes followed him as he headed upstairs to the nursery. She smiled fondly at him as he scooped up their six-month old, laying him on the opposite shoulder from the one Tyler was currently occupying.

Cameron stopped crying almost immediately as he looked upon his sleeping friend. Mercedes reached out a thumb to brush his forehead just as he yawned and stuffed his little index and middle fingers into his mouth. Cameron reached out the other hand and touched his fingers to his friend's hand before he closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

Sam looked down at both babies proudly before sending Mercedes a smug smile. "I feel like a superhero right now," he informed her excitedly. Mercedes sent him a look that said, 'Oh yeah?'

"A superhero flying around putting babies to sleep? That one's different," Mercedes said with a giggle, running a hand along Tyler's back.

"I could be like, BabyMan," Sam tried with the most enthusiastic smile Mercedes had ever seen and Mercedes snorted before silencing her laugh with her hands. "No, no. I agree with you," Sam conceded. "That one was bad. What about Dr. Lullaby?"

"Samuel Evans, just stop," Mercedes said, through a loud bark of laughter, turning to walk away from him. She was about to start howling out her laughter and wake up both children. _What in the world was wrong with her husband?_

"The Incredible Rumble?" he asked and Mercedes threw her head back, still making her way out of the room as she laughed. "'Cede, come back," he shouted. Mercedes heard one of the babies whimper and turned back to Sam as he whispered, "Oh, shit. Sorry." She giggled at the 'my bad' look on his face from her spot by the door. "We'll talk about his later, baby," Sam told her before he started humming again.

Mercedes smiled fondly at him. "Put Tyler in Cam's crib and put Cam in the bassinet in our room. I'm going back downstairs to talk to Tina. See you in a bit," she told him, shaking her head before she went off. She'd enjoy a nice calming cup of tea with her best friend before they all headed to bed.

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><p><strong>AN**: You don't need to laugh, I was killing myself with Sam's superhero names. He's such a fool and he would. Or maybe I'm such a fool. Either way. Anyway, I hope you liked it. And Mike singing 'Cool' to his kid as a lullaby. Tell me that doesn't make you 'awww' lol. I need Harry Shum to sing more songs. This is not even an author's note. I'm just rambling. But yeah, leave me a **review** if you liked it.


	34. P-O-O-D-L-E

Mercedes giggled as she watched Sam attempt to part a straight line down the middle of Lilliana's hair. She held a clump of Cameron's hair in her hand, having just shown Sam what to do using their pouting son as a reluctant example.

"Take your time with it. You can go back to a certain point and do it again if you mess up," Mercedes advised, still giggling at the concentration on her husband's face. He was really invested in getting this right and his tongue poked out as he concentrated on tracing the part perfectly. Lilliana sat in front of him, obliviously playing a game on her LeapPad. It was the only way to keep her silent during the process. If she turned into a crying mess, then her father would fall apart and they'd be back at square one.

Mercedes—who'd been responsible for all hair-combing since Lilliana was born—was about to leave the next afternoon for a little under a month. She'd be in New York, staying with Kurt, as she recorded songs for her new album with a producer she'd been dying to work with. It would be a bit of an adjustment for the family, but worth in the end as it would boost her career.

Sam had approached Mercedes a few days before she left, really wanting to know how to pull off a few hairstyles for his daughter that wouldn't be a clear sign that her mother was gone. He'd tried before on a few occasions where Mercedes had been gone for the day, and always ended up with a lopsided or clumpy mess on his hands.

The final straw for Sam had been during Mercedes' last trip away from home. Lilly had come home from school upset that some other girls had teased her messy hair, calling her Poodle Head. Sam had felt so guilty at the sight of her tears—even as he'd advised her not to heed their words because she was beautiful. It'd killed him to hear her wish she was anything but her absolutely perfect self. It'd taken a long talk from him and her mother when she returned to set Lilliana straight and boost the little girl's confidence back up.

It'd taken an even longer talk between him and Mercedes before Sam had been able to forgive himself.

The tight, curly texture of Lilly's hair was much different than what he was used to from when he'd styled Stacey's hair. He couldn't really just brush the strands, pin them down, and call it a day and he didn't want his daughter to have to go through that for a month. He couldn't deal with the guilt of not trying. After all, he was her father. He should know how to comb her hair.

With Cameron, it'd been easy. All he did was moisturize his son's blond curls, untangle them, and let them be free. Lilliana's brown curls were slightly looser than her brothers. They also had a finer texture that tangled easily and that required an extreme amount of care to prevent breakage.

Mercedes had already taken him through the washing, conditioning, and untangling process—laughing the whole way through as Sam listened intently and tried to copy her actions. The amount of concern she could see on his face was just one of the many reasons she adored him. She loved that he cared enough to learn.

They'd enlisted Cameron to help with the styling portion. Sam completed the part and turned to gauge Mercedes' reaction. She laughed at the complete look of pride on his face when she told him it was good.

"You sure?" he asked. "I don't want another P-O-O-D-L-E incident," he said, his cheeks flushing red at the mere mention.

"It's perfect, baby. I promise," she replied with a soft smile. "Okay," she said when he nodded, "now you just wanna pull one side tightly." She demonstrated on Cameron's head. Cameron squinted at the action and tried to yank his head away to no avail.

"Is this really necessary?" Cameron said, cutting off whatever his mother was about to say next.

Sam shushed his son, eyes flashing at him, before he went back to listening to his wife. Cameron's pout was surly, but he turned his attention back to his iPod, as Mercedes continued.

"Use the brush to smooth it out and make it straight." She demonstrated again on Cameron's head, pulling one side of his hair in place for a pigtail, smoothing it down with a comb. "Then you put in the hair tie. Twist it a couple times so it's tight—but not too tight, or it'll hurt her and give her a headache. Then she'll be a world of trouble the next day when you try to get her to sit through it again because her scalp will hurt."

Sam looked worried at that. He was putty in Lilliana's hands. He knew if she started crying, he'd be likely to let her go to school looking however she wanted—and with Lilliana there was no telling what that might be. Knowing her, it could be anything from a Power Ranger to a unicorn and he'd be in trouble.

"You know, this is not a thing people do," Cameron commented while his father worked. "This is weird. Why do we have to be weird?"

"Just hold still, Cam," Mercedes said, pulling his hair through the hair tie as Sam watched. She looped the hair tie around again and smiled as Sam successfully copied the actions on Lilly's hair. "Good, baby. You're doing great," she encouraged. "Now, try the other side."

She watched as Sam pulled the side, smoothing it down with the brush, before pulling it into a hair tie and looping it around again. She had to laugh at the look of pride on his face when he'd completely finished and took in his work. Mercedes quickly fixed the other half of Cameron's hair so he had poofs to match his sister's.

"Now, you could braid it, but I think it looks cuter this way. Plus you don't have to worry about fixing the braids if they come out—which they usually do because she messes with them," Mercedes said, laughing when Lilliana turned to look at her with wide eyes and abruptly pulled her hands away from her hair.

"Am I done?" Cameron asked, turning to look at her. She took in his face and the two poofs on the side of his head and just started to laugh. Sam and Lilliana joined in as the surly pout returned to Cameron's face. "Oh, I see," he said standing up, while his family kept right on laughing.

"I so nicely volunteer my time and hair, and you laugh at me?" he asked dramatically. His put out expression only made his family laugh more, the two poofs at the side of his head ensuring that nothing he said could be taken seriously. "See if I ever help y'all out again," he said before making his grand exit, poofs and all, out of the living room.

Sam sighed out a breath when he finally could, his face red from the exertion. "I still have more styles to learn," he said a little absently.

"I'll bribe him with snickerdoodles," Mercedes promised. "Let's take a lunch break."

With that, Sam picked up his daughter, proudly patting one of the poofs on her head as they headed to the kitchen behind Mercedes.

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><p><strong>AN:** I was going through and sorting things on FF. This one has been sitting in my Doc Manager on FF for the longest. Just decided to finally post it. Hope y'all like it. Just another family moment and Cameron being a fool. There might be another update today, too. I have two oneshots currently in the works. If I feel like finishing them, I will lol. **Please review!**


	35. The Great Outdoors

**A/N**: Y'all are too awesome! Thanks for the response to the Camfic question earlier! I will definitely post it when I am finished with it, which will probably be sometime next month since I will have a bit more time. Thank you for the continued support for this fic. I'm glad y'all enjoy it.

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><p>"Give me the phone," Sam said.<p>

Even if the tone was low, Cameron, who'd been trying to text an SOS to Tyler into his phone undetected, jumped about a foot in the air. "No. Dad, come on—_aaah_," he said, struggling to no avail as Sam snatched and pocketed the object.

"You can't do that!" Cameron protested. "Mom, tell him he can't do that! That was my last connection to civilization!"

Mercedes, however, was too preoccupied with trying to look into the dark wooded area around her to listen to him at all. She couldn't _believe_ Sam had talked her into this.

Sam looked up at her and rolled his eyes. "Baby, for the last time, there aren't any bears and stuff in this part of the woods. It's _controlled_."

"How would you know? You don't know," Mercedes protested, turning on him. "You can't be sure of that, Sam! That's just what _they_ say," she said, before turning back to the darkness around her. Sam wondered who the 'they' she was referring to could possibly be, but kept the thought silent as she rambled on.

"A bear isn't gonna give a crap about boundaries, okay? It's just gonna look over a boundary and say, 'Oh, what a tasty looking human,' and hop right on over," Mercedes informed him.

"Bears don't eat people, babe. That's just a misconception. They only attack people if they feel threatened," Sam replied.

"As reassuring as _that_ is," Mercedes said rolling her eyes at her husband, "it's still not gonna get _me_ off guard," she finished, clearly anything _but_ reassured. "No, sir. I'm gonna see it coming and bust its nose."

"Your plan is to bust a bear in the nose," Sam said, simply clarifying, as he walked up behind her. He smirked as he took in his wife's petite stature, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I hope it's a small bear," he said with a quiet laugh before turning his face into her and kissing her neck.

At that, Mercedes pulled away from her husband, turned glaring eyes onto him, and did the most mature thing she could think to do. Sam laughed outright, shaking his head, as her pink tongue poked out at him. Moments later she was back staring into the woods, mumbling to herself. Sam shook his head again, smiling a bit as he walked away from her. She was adorable, even when she was being crazy.

She was clearly a lost cause and Sam left her to her rambling, turning his attention back to Cameron, who'd now sunk onto the ground, and was frantically searching through his backpack. His expression grew more panicked with every passing second.

"Already got that one," Sam said with a small laugh, holding up the back-up cellphone he'd fished out of Cameron's bag earlier. "Nice try."

Cameron looked up at his father, flabbergasted. He struggled to find his words for a moment, his mouth hanging agape, before he caught himself and settled on, "You're evil."

Sam laughed at the pout on Cameron's face before walking away to check on Lilliana. She sat, quietly humming, by the campfire they'd set up outside their tents earlier.

Sam chuckled as he thought back to that ordeal. The soccer pitch was as outdoorsy as Cameron got. He was clearly out of his element in the wooded area and it'd showed when Sam had enlisted his help to set up the tents.

Cameron's work building his and Lilly's tent had more closely resembled a rundown tepee before his little sister had helped him out with spacing.

When he'd finally managed to get the tent set up, Sam had sent him off with Lilly to collect firewood in the surrounding area. Cameron had returned not two minutes late, hauling his sister in his arms—not a bit of firewood in sight.

"He saw a raccoon," Lilliana had explained at Sam's questioning look. She'd then suggested that Cameron stay behind with Mercedes, while she and Sam went off for the firewood. The seven-year old was proving to have inherited Sam's fondness of the outdoors—as well as his skill. They'd gone off after that, leaving Cam and Mercedes to cower in one of the tents until they got back.

Lilly sat patiently, now, waiting for some help to roast a marshmallow. He smiled and headed over to her, ruffling her curls as he sat next to her and spiked his own marshmallow.

"You're having fun, right, Lil?" he asked, and chuckled at Lilliana's enthusiastic nod. He was glad, since this whole excursion into the woods was initially for her.

"I can't wait to go exploring tomorrow," Lilliana answered eagerly. She'd been learning about rocks and soil at school. Since then, geology had been her latest calling in life. It was certainly a step up from the time she'd wanted to be a unicorn—he'd always told her she could be anything she wanted to be, and she'd taken it literally—so, Sam had promised her a nature walk to make some observations.

_Finally, someone who gets it,_ Sam thought, at her answer. He put his arm around his little girl, pulled her close, and dropped a kiss to her temple.

A branch snapped somewhere behind them and Mercedes ruined the moment. "What was that?" she asked running to where they sat. She held onto Sam's arm in fear. Lilly looked at her mother's expression curiously.

"It was probably just a squirrel, 'Cede," Sam said, waving her off.

It'd been the wrong thing to say. Mercedes eyes popped wide and Sam got ready for the impending storm.

"There are _squirrels_ out here?" she asked, practically screeching the question. Sam could see her starting to lose it and gave her credit that she'd kept it together this long. "I thought you just said it was controlled!" She smacked Sam's arm.

"It _is_," Sam replied, leaning away from her. "For, like, bears and the big stuff, but a squirrel isn't exactly a life-threatening predator."

"Oh, yes they are!" Mercedes countered. "They're intruders," she reminded him. "They break into your home and eat your food and crawl over you."

"To be fair, Lilly let that one in," Sam told her. Lilly looked at them, confused and shook her head. She clearly didn't remember the havoc she'd caused that day wanting to play with the 'scurrworl'.

"It still ate our bread," Mercedes replied with the surliest expression Sam had ever seen. He wanted to laugh, but decided against it as she continued. "And it broke our dishes."

"_You_ broke our dishes," Sam countered. "You threw your shoes at it."

"It was in my _house_," Mercedes replied, angrily. "Whose side are you on?" Her expression had Sam tucking in his lips and looking away from her. His wife was certainly past being calm at the moment. Any further discussion from him would not end well.

Sam was actually glad when Cameron walked over and started to speak, even as he rolled his eyes at his son's tone and demeanor.

"People do this for fun?" Cameron said, dropping himself onto a nearby log. His expression was a mixture of genuine confusion and forlorn resignation. "Like, it's a thing? You come sit in some dark wooded area with no electricity and just stare at each other and wait for animals to attack you?"

Sam couldn't help but laugh at his son. "Yes—essentially, minus the animal attacks," he replied. "But, it's more than that. It teaches you to live off the land—with just your necessities. You don't have to worry about the outside world stuff," he finished.

"You just have to worry about bears trying to eat you," Cameron supplied dryly, nodding at his mom. Mercedes nodded back and Sam rolled his eyes while Lilliana leaned against him, munching on a marshmallow.

"Bears eat honey," she told Cameron, idly.

"And unsuspecting campers," Cameron added. "Serves us right, too, because, when you think about it—just _what_ are we doing out here, again?"

"You're one with nature, just like God intended," Sam supplied. "No outside influences."

"_You're_ the one snatching cellphones, not God," Cameron accused, staring at his father. Mercedes giggled at that and Sam just shook his head.

"Just sayin'," Cameron said, pulling his hair up and tying it into a messy bun. "We could have gone with my idea and we wouldn't have to deal with potential bear attacks," he finished.

"Or White Walkers," Mercedes added, suddenly side-eyeing the woods again.

Cameron nodded at the suggestion. "Or those."

"White Walkers? Really, babe?" Sam said, laughing outright now. "This is California, not Beyond the Wall."

"It's October," Mercedes supplied. "Winter is coming." At that, even she let out a small laugh at herself and Sam huffed out a laugh and teasingly checked her with his shoulder.

"Y'all are crazy," he said.

"You want to sit on some logs, sleep on the ground, get bitten up by bugs, and chance an animal attack instead of sitting in the comfort of your own living room, but we're the crazy ones," Cameron said sarcastically. "Okay."

He had no time at all to defend against the marshmallow his dad threw at his head.

"Hey," Cameron protested. "The violence isn't necessary." Sam rolled his eyes, before looking up at the night sky, while Mercedes laughed and shook her head.

"Isn't this nice, though?" Sam said after a moment, smiling widely at his family. He put his arm around Lilliana and the little girl's smile mirrored his as she nodded.

Mercedes and Cameron, however, were another story entirely. One look at their frowns told Sam all he needed to know. His smile fell into a look of disbelief. "Come on," he prompted. "I mean, I know it's not your thing, but, baby, look at the stars! And Cam, the river's right there. We'll get to do some kayaking tomorrow! It'll be great!"

Cameron stared back at his father blankly, clearly not sharing the enthusiasm and Mercedes just looked to Sam skeptically. "We get to be out here together," Sam insisted. "Just the four of us—no work, no school—," Sam started.

"No electricity, no indoor plumbing," Cameron supplied, making his mother laugh while Sam rolled his eyes again. They'd taught that boy to speak and he'd been using it against them ever since.

"Not quite where I was headed with that thought," Sam said, dryly. "It's going to be fun. You have to give it a chance," Sam told them.

"I don't see why we couldn't have just gone with _my_ idea," Cameron said.

"Because the backyard, as much as I love it, isn't my definition of the great outdoors," Sam answered.

"Why not?" Mercedes asked, and Sam turned to her like she'd betrayed him, "It's outside. It's got fresh air. It's got a stellar view of the city. It's well lit and fenced in, so, no bear issues."

"It's got a pool," Cameron picked up, "and a conveniently located house—and, wait for it, it's got wifi, electrical outlets, _and_ a bathroom that flushes and does not double as a bacteria-infested shack."

"It's also got _distractions_," Sam argued, "and things that take away from this family time. I just want to spend a little _time_ with y'all, just us—and help Lilly out with school to boot. Just give it a chance," he pleaded. He _really_ wanted this.

They'd always been a close knit family, and would always be, but things had changed a bit from what they'd been. Cameron had started his first year of college that year. Though he'd opted to still live at home that first year while he attended school, he was still off with his friends a lot of the time and busy with other things. Lilliana was getting more independent everyday, making friends at school, developing new interests that took her out of the house—her cooking classes, her dance lessons, and playdates with friends from school. He and Mercedes were enjoying great successes in their careers, but that came at the price of their time as well. He just wanted this, a time for them to enjoy each other without all the extra stuff—just for the weekend. He explained as much to them.

He was happy to see their faces soften after that, each of them resigned to the situation and willing to endure it for him—because he wanted them to, because he always bent over backwards to be there for everything they wanted and needed, and this had been his only real request in years—besides all the sci-fi and comic conventions, but Cam went to those willingly.

Sam smiled as he watched Cameron sigh and move closer to his sister, lifting the little girl up away from their dad and pulling her into his lap. He proudly told Lilly he would teach her to make a s'more and Lilly couldn't have been more excited.

As they started their idle chatter about the best way to roast a marshmallow, Sam looked at Mercedes just as she cast a hesitant look to the dark area surrounding them. "There's nothing out there but park rangers and other campers. Just relax," he said wrapping his arms around her.

"Easy for _you_ to say, Tennessee," she teased.

"Oh, like people don't go camping in Ohio," Sam said softly, nudging her.

"Not _my_ people," she informed him. "You've been there. Barbecuing is as outdoors as my family gets. Maybe apple picking and the pumpkin patch when the mood strikes. If ever there was a Jones in the woods, trust they didn't end up there on purpose."

"You're an Evans, now," he reminded her.

"Clearly," she said nodding to the wooded area around her. "I still can't believe you talked me into coming out here."

"It only took over 20 years," he teased. "Thank you for coming, even with your great fear of the bears," Sam said earnestly. "It means a lot. I'll protect you," he said, pressing his lips softly to hers.

"Yeah? How?" Mercedes asked.

"Well, I'm gonna take a page from your book," he informed her. "I'm gonna bust its nose, of course," Sam replied with a straight face. He fell into a chuckle when Mercedes tried to push him away, but wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

They were pulled out of their moment seconds later when Cameron screamed and Lilly burst into tear-inducing giggles. Mercedes turned, fully expecting the long-awaited bear attack, but only found Cameron holding on to a stick alight with a marshmallow he'd managed to set on fire.

He shrieked shortly before throwing the stick onto the burning logs while Lilliana leaned back against his shoulder covering chocolate-filled mouth as she laughed.

Clearly, the s'more making lessons had taken a turn for the worst. Sam shook his head as he watched the scene before him. This was only a couple hours in, he couldn't wait for the drama that would surely ensue from the rest of their weekend.

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><p><strong>AN:** This was a prompt from tumblr. It wasn't exactly like this, but this is what my brain came up with. Mind you, I've never in life been camping, I have no inclination to do so, so I have no idea if half the things I was writing about actually go on lol. So, to the requester, I hope you like it and I hope every else will enjoy it as well. Please review! They really are encouraging and make me want to keep writing! Until next time! :)


	36. Frisky

**A/N:** Triple wonders weekend! Lol. Okay, no. That was real corny, but yeah. Another one. I'm done after this one...for at least the week. This is for **Alliecattie3.** She asked for this a REALLY long time ago and I said I would write it, but life got in the way. I hope you love it! Thanks for always reading and being so encouraging. :) I hope everyone else enjoys it, too!

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><p>"You're wearing that for your nap?" Sam asked incredulously, from his spot on the bed, as his wife sauntered into their bedroom in the scantiest piece of lingerie he'd ever laid eyes on. He felt a tightening in his belly at the sight of her, running her hands over the material that flowed over her small baby bump.<p>

"Sure am," she said sitting next to him and flashing a toothy grin his way. "Why?" she asked looking at him innocently, as she adjusted the cups of the garment around her breasts. She smirked as Sam's eyes zoomed in on the action, following every movement closely.

He looked back up at her, mouth hanging slightly ajar, before he snapped it shut and eyed her knowingly. He wasn't remotely fooled by her big, innocent eyes. She knew just what she was doing to him and she'd been at it all day.

She'd woken up in a frisky mood—a state that was becoming the norm for her at this stage in her pregnancy. It usually wasn't a problem for Sam—like, at all—except that morning, as soon as he'd started kissing on her, touching her, and getting her excited, she'd had a slight dizzy spell that immediately worried him.

He'd instantly stopped, despite her protests, telling her they needed to take it easy and make sure she was okay. She'd glared at him the entire way to the doctor's office, telling him she didn't need to go. The doctor had declared she was fine—which she'd maturely stuck her tongue out at him about—but insisted that she needed to stay nourished, hydrated, and rested—to which he'd maturely replied, "Told you so!"

From there, Sam set out to follow the doctor's orders to the letter—and Mercedes set out to follow her libido.

He'd made her a healthy lunch, which he almost burned as Mercedes stood by him as he worked, distracting him at every turn. She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and he could feel her bump pressing into his back.

Her little hands snaked under his t-shirt, her fingers tracing over every groove of his abs, before they dipped lower to play with the ridges of his hipbones. He tried to push her hands away, but the task was made difficult by the skillet of cooking chicken before him. All his pleas for her to stop were met with a quiet "okay" as she found something even more distracting to do with her hands.

Sam was almost triumphant when the chicken was cooked. He moved her into a seat at the kitchen table, ignoring her pout as he went on about how awesome this lunch would be, fully knowing that she didn't care—the look on her face was enough of an indication of that.

The wicked gleam in her eyes returned as he sat next to her at the dining room table and set him on edge. His fears were confirmed moments later, when he felt her wandering fingers grazing his thigh. He'd almost choked on his food as she inched her way upwards. He abruptly stood up, mumbling something about needing ice for their drinks before disappearing back into the kitchen. He'd almost celebrated when she hadn't followed him.

It would have been too soon anyway, because she hadn't been deterred. She'd only regrouped after her meal, pulling him into the living room under the guise of a friendly cuddle. He should have known better than to buy it, but her doe eyes reeled him in like they always had. One bat of those babies and he was settling in next to her on the couch, wrapping his arms tightly around her while an episode of Grey's Anatomy blathered on. From there, their friendly cuddle quickly transitioned into him avoiding her searching lips as she sought to attach them to any available patch of his skin that would get him going.

It wasn't long before he found himself camping out in their laundry room instead, pretending to be extra busy with the wash. Mike had been no help when Sam called, either. "Some best friend you are," Sam accused when Mike only burst out laughing at the situation.

"Dude, you're hiding out in the laundry room so you don't let your wife jump your bones. Why did you even call me? What am I supposed to do?" Mike asked, chuckling.

"It's called moral support!" Sam informed him in a slight panic. "Support me!"

"All I can say, man—resistance is futile," Mike told him earnestly. "Speaking from experience, you're gonna have to give it up."

"But what if it, like…I don't know…messes her up or something," Sam asked awkwardly. He was blushing something fierce and so glad to be in the laundry room all alone where no one could see him.

"I'd say just trust her, dude," Mike said sagely. "If she's telling you she feels fine, then just go with it."

The advice was good—Sam knew it—but he couldn't shake his concern. This was her first pregnancy. They'd been wanting this forever. He would never forgive himself if anything went wrong.

He watched her now, as she settled onto the bed, rubbing lotion gingerly onto her legs. All he wanted to do was throw himself across the measly few inches of space that separated them and giving her what—honestly—they _both_ wanted.

She rubbed the lotion gingerly onto her skin, looking up periodically to bat her eyelids at him. Sam's jaw tightened as he watched her. His hand ached to follow that same trail—ached to feel her smooth skin. He was staring hard and he couldn't even stop himself.

Mercedes picked up on this momentary lapse in his judgment and set down the lotion before crawling her way over to him. She placed her hands gently on his shoulders, kneeling between his legs before placing a small peck on his lips. She smiled when she wasn't immediately rebuffed and placed a harder kiss on his lips, cupping the back of his head. She ran her tongue across his bottom lip and Sam sighed into the kiss, finally—_helplessly_—opening his mouth to her.

Her moan at the feel of his tongue against hers brought him back shortly, however, and he pulled away from her lips, turning his head. Mercedes let out a frustrated groan, but turned her attentions to his earlobe.

"Baby, no," he whimpered weakly as her tongue followed a small trail from his earlobe to his pulse point. Dammit. She _knew_ he loved that.

"That shudder says yes," Mercedes whispered wickedly, feeling him tremor under her touch.

"The doctor said you have to relax," Sam protested.

"What's more relaxing than sex?" she countered, slipping her hands into his shirt.

"Mercedes," he warned, struggling but finally succeeding at pushing her back by the shoulders.

The angry groan that left her after that surprised him. "Why?" she asked, her frustration clearly showing now. "You've been like this _all_ day. I told you I'm fine!"

"You need to take it easy," Sam told her. "You got dizzy this—," he started, but she cut him off with another groan before she spoke again.

"So what? It happens! I got lightheaded. It's not the end of the world," Mercedes said pouting.

"I just need you to be healthy," Sam said quietly. "Both of you. I don't know what I'd do if anything went wrong."

"You heard Dr. Laurel. I'm _fine_. The only thing that's wrong is that I'm pregnant, _extremely_ hormonal, and my husband won't make love to me," she said.

Sam was startled to see the tears start to seep out of her eyes.

"Baby," he said softly, reaching out to her. He snapped his hand back in surprise when she heatedly shrugged off his touch.

"Don't," she said, a hard edge finding its way into her tone. "If you don't want to touch me, you don't have to," she finished with a surly roll of her eyes.

"_What_?" Sam asked, befuddled now. "I—I _never_ said—," he spluttered, but she cut him off.

"You didn't have to! Your actions have been more than enough," she said turning to him. She glared at him for a moment, before her look turned sad. "I get it, okay? I'm all swollen right now and I don't look how I used—," she started and Sam cut her off right then, putting his hand right over her mouth to stop her talking.

"Okay, no. Let me stop you right there," he said shaking his head. Mercedes stared at him—the hard, almost angry, expression on his face. Tears still brimmed around her big doe eyes.

"Don't even go there with me, okay?" he told her sternly, clearly hurt by the insinuation. "I get that your body is driving you crazy right now, but you know me. You know how I feel about you. This isn't brand new. You know it's not true. It's silly to even say it, so, just don't. I'm your husband," he said running his finger over her wedding ring with an affection that gave Mercedes pause. "We've been together too long and gone through too much."

She looked down into her lap guiltily and just nodded her head. She knew he was right. This pregnancy just got the best of her sometimes.

"I'm sorry," she apologized softly, looking back up at him after a long, quiet moment to collect herself. "I shouldn't have said—," she started. He cut her off with a gentle finger trailing over her full lips.

He nodded. "I'm just trying to take care of you. I need you to be alright," he said quietly taking her face into his hands.

"I'm fine," Mercedes promised him again, looking into his eyes. "You have to trust me. I'd tell you if I wasn't," she said, echoing what Mike had told him earlier.

Sam stared at her for a moment, searching her face for any hesitation, any hint that she wasn't okay. She just stared back, willing him to let down his guard.

Mercedes could have leaped for joy when he finally nodded and leaned down to kiss her. She almost did, but figured any sudden movement might deter him again, so she eased him slowly into a deeper kiss, cupping the back on his head. She laughed lightly when he pulled her onto his lap, his new favorite thing to do these days, as he was scared to be on top of her.

She pressed herself as closely to him as she could, whimpering when she wrapped her legs around him and felt him in just the right spot. She wasted no time starting to move against him and it took even less than that for his hands to find their way to the flimsy material of her panties.

He'd just started to ease them down, Mercedes' whimpers driving him crazy as he continued to kiss her, when her cell phone went off with Tina's ringtone. He groaned audibly when Mercedes pulled away, reaching immediately for the phone.

"T," she said, and he watched her breasts heave up and down with every harsh breath she took, practically irresistible in the garment she wore. He started an assault on them, kissing every inch of her exposed skin he could get to as she tried to listen intently to her friend.

His hand pressed against her lower back, trying to resume the tortuously delicious movement she'd been engaged in just seconds before.

It caught him completely off guard when she simply pulled away from him, swinging her legs around until she was standing. "Really?" she said into the phone, clearly surprised by whatever Tina was saying, and Sam would have laughed at the irony that he was thinking the same exact thing, except nothing was funny about this to him right now.

She'd spent the day trying to get him worked up, and now that he was, she'd put a halt to everything cold.

"Oh my goodness, that's insane," she said with a laugh to Tina and Sam looked at her nodding along, wishing she'd wrap it up soon and come back to him.

"I'll be right over," she said, turning around and heading for her closet. Sam's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"Um, babe?" he said attempting to remind her of his presence. She turned around, seeming to remember what they'd been doing at the sound of his voice.

"Hold on, T," she said, and Sam groaned in frustration, already knowing where this was headed.

"I'm sorry, baby," she said, placing a quick peck on his pouting lips. "I have to go. Kurt got really drunk last night and permed his hair. He saw Blaine at a show after a really long time and got all nostalgic. T, says he looks like little orphan Annie. It's all hands on deck."

With that, she disappeared into the closet. Minutes later she reemerged and gone was the lingerie he'd had his heart set on peeling off of her. In its place was a cute sundress which made an adorable show of her baby bump.

"I'll be back tonight. I'll drive safe. I'll call you when I get there," she said, stopping to peck his lips again. "I love you," she said with a smile and then she was gone.

Sam watched all of it happen, his mouth agape. He stayed like that for a while after she left, trying to process what had happened.

"Unbelievable," was his conclusion, shortly before he dropped himself back onto the bed and groaned again. This pregnancy was going to be the end of him.

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><p><strong>AN: Review? Please? :)**


	37. Bob

**A/N:** I don't know.

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><p>Sam had just put the finishing touches on his latest sketches when Cameron rushed into the room, tears streaming down his face. The seven-year old never slowed down, even as he got closer to his father, simply crashing into Sam's legs where the silent stream of tears turned into full-on sobbing.<p>

Immediately, Sam backed away from his desk, concern creasing his features as he pulled his bawling son onto his lap. "Hey. Breathe," he said, rubbing soothing circles onto Cameron's back. "What happened, little man?"

Cameron actually tried to respond, but every word he spoke increased in pitch and accumulated some sobs along the way, making it impossible to understand what he was saying. He finally gave up on speaking altogether and finished on the loudest wail Sam had ever heard to date.

Sam stared, bewildered for a moment at the sight of his son's reddened and crumpled face. Gently cupping Cameron's face with both of his hands, he forced the seven-year old to focus on him. Their matching green eyes met and Sam spoke quietly. "Hey. I need you to calm down. I can't understand you. Breathe," Sam soothed.

Cameron did just that, focusing on his father's eyes. "My goldfish," he whimpered after a moment.

"What happened to Bob?" Sam said, holding back a chuckle on the name Mercedes had chosen when she came home with the fish and presented it to Cameron as a first pet.

"He's dead," Cameron said—and there was that wail again, piercing Sam's eardrums.

"How?" Sam asked, startled at the news of Bob's untimely passing. They'd literally only had the fish for 48 hours. Cameron was passed the point of being able to speak so Sam picked up his son and headed towards Cameron's room to inspect the fishbowl himself.

As soon as he made it into the room, he noticed the problem. Bob was well and truly dead—bless his short life. Sam was also pretty sure he knew why.

"How much did you feed the little guy, Cameron?" Sam asked, looking at the mass of food floating in Bob's fishbowl.

"Momma said a pinch every time," Cameron said tearfully.

"Show me a pinch," Sam said, handing his son the can of food. Cameron started out with one shake into his little hand as his father watched him carefully. That shake was soon followed by seven more until Cameron was holding a small handful of fish food. This, he turned, angling himself towards the fish bowl, and dumped in along with the rest of the food.

Mystery solved.

"I hate to tell you, little man," Sam said. Cameron turned perplexed eyes onto his father. "A pinch is like…_much_ smaller than that. You gave Bob too much food."

As soon as Cameron's face crumpled again, Sam knew it was the wrong thing to say. "I killed him?" Cameron asked, shortly before letting out another loud wail.

_Great parenting, Sammy_, Sam thought. _Your son comes to you for comfort and you call him a fish murderer._

Sam rushed to appease his crying son. "But at least he died with a full belly!"

Cameron wailed louder still and Sam was at a loss. The sight of Mercedes' face as she walked into the room—concern etched into every feature—had never relieved him more.

"What in the world is going on?" Mercedes said moving toward them. She was reaching for Cameron the whole walk over and pulled him into her arms when she finally settled next to Sam. "I could hear you crying from the living room. What's wrong?"

Cameron went on crying into his mother's shoulder so Mercedes turned to Sam, looking at him questioningly.

Sam figured he'd done enough talking and tried to tell Mercedes what was happening without the use of his voice. "Bob," he mouthed, shaking his head. Next, he ran a thumb under his throat to indicate, "dead."

Mercedes stared at him in confusion, so Sam reiterated, this time adding some mimicry of what he felt a fish looked like when it died to help things.

"What?" Mercedes, said with a confused laugh as she watched him roll his eyes into his head and splutter his arms and legs about.

"The fish," Sam whispered harshly, at that, pointing wildly at the fishbowl.

It'd been the wrong thing to do, as Cameron still heard and fell into another bout of tears at the mention of his dear Bob. Sam rolled his eyes at himself. He was clearly on a roll.

"Oh, baby," Mercedes said, gasping in sudden realization as she looked at the rotted food in the tank. "Aw, Cam. It's okay. Bob lived a happy life."

"Daddy said I killed him," Cameron wailed.

Mercedes looked to Sam, gaping.

Sam blushed. "Not outright," he defended. "I might've implied it."

It wasn't long before Mercedes got Cameron's tears to subside with a snickerdoodle and a glass of milk. Sam was only happy to relinquish comfort duty, but found he couldn't escape it entirely.

All too soon, he found himself standing by the lake in their backyard, trying to come up with some nice words to say about Bob. Cameron and Mercedes had already gone.

Cameron touched upon how Bob had been the nicest little fish ever and he wished they'd had more time to play. Mercedes had agreed with Cameron's thought, saying that Bob had been a wonderful, non-messy pet and she wished him well on his way.

All eyes now fell to Sam, as they awaited his inspiring words—except sixty whole seconds went by without a peep.

"Sam," Mercedes nudged, as Cameron sniffled next to them.

"_What_? I'm thinking!" Sam defended.

"Just say something," Mercedes insisted.

"I'd only known him for two days, 'Cede," Sam said.

"Sam!"

The glare she sent his way boosted him into action and he immediately started to splutter, "Uh—I—um, Bob. Bobby. You were a—uh, great friend, just swimming around, and um—eating a lot," Sam started. At that, Cameron's face crumpled again and he sobbed into his mother's leg. "See?!" Sam said, sending an accusatory glance Mercedes' way. "Why are you making me talk?" he whispered at her.

"Just go on. Wrap it up," she prompted.

"You were always meant for better things, Bob," Sam added, and Mercedes snorted. Sam gave her the stink-eye at that. "And as soon as we put you in this lake, you'll be in fishy heaven, swimming in the grandest tank of all. You'll be awesome."

Cameron's attention perked up at that. "Really?" he asked, and the hopeful look in his green eyes melted his parents' hearts.

"Yeah," Sam encouraged. "He's, uh, he'll be in fishy heaven with a ton of other little goldfish. He's gonna be swimming around forever. He's gonna be so much happier in his new home."

"So he's not mad at me?" Cameron asked.

"Aw, buddy, of course not," Sam said, reaching out a hand to ruffle Cameron's curls. "He could never be mad at you. You loved him and you tried to take good care of him."

Cameron looked at his dad for a moment, considering the words. Sam was both startled and relieved when Cameron rushed forward and wrapped his little arms around his father's legs.

At least he'd managed to say _something_ right.

"Just so you know, you're not allowed to speak at _my_ funeral," Mercedes joked as they headed back toward the house.

Sam stared after her as she walked ahead of him, holding on to Cameron's hand. "That's morbid as hell, baby."

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><p><strong>AN:** **Review? Please?**


	38. Going Away to College

"Dad, are you crying?"

Sam jumped slightly at the sound of Cameron's voice, quickly hiding his face from his son. He hadn't heard him enter the room.

"No," he answered quickly, sniffling quietly as he continued to look out of Cameron's new dorm room window. He used a hand as sneakily as he could to wipe at the stray tears on his face.

The action wasn't lost on Cameron who moved toward him, taking note of his father's red tipped ears and the occasionally stuttered breaths that shook his shoulders.

"Yes you are, you goofball. Aw, old man," Cameron teased, his accompanying chuckles laced with a sad tinge as he playfully wrapped his arms around his father's shoulders and nestled his head into Sam's back.

Sam laughed a watery laugh, feeling Cameron's head against him. He twisted to throw his arm around his son's shoulders. For the next few moments, he only looked at Cameron, a sad smile blooming on his face, and tears filling his eyes, before they overwhelmed him. He brought Cameron forward, hugging him tightly.

"I'm just going to miss you, Cammy," he said quietly, swallowing back the lump in his throat.

"Stop," Cameron said with a laugh that thinly held back a few tears of his own. He could feel their sting in his eyes. "Mom and Ty are right downstairs. We'll never hear the end of it if they catch us up here with our faces leaking. Get yourself together, dude."

Sam laughed at the comment even as a tear slipped out of his eyes and pulled back, offering Cameron a crooked smile—the same one that had been there for him for his entire life. It was Cameron's undoing. He buried his face in his father's neck, the tears finally breaking free as Sam just held him.

Sam couldn't believe this day had arrived. It seemed like only yesterday he'd held Cameron for the first time. His heart had swelled with a pride and love he'd only ever experienced for his wife before then. It was nearly overwhelming. He'd been scared shitless as the nurse handed him the tiny baby. It'd been everything he wanted, but he couldn't help the panic that bubbled up inside of him as he held on to this small little being—this little ball of perfection that he and Mercedes had created.

All these doubts had filled his head as he stared at his son, who was still fussing lightly. Could he be a good father? Could he keep him safe and healthy and happy and protect him from everything? His heart had thudded wildly in his chest as these fears overwhelmed him, but Cameron had only latched on to one of his father's fingers, quieting almost immediately, and opened his eyes to look at Sam.

Cameron's big green eyes shone brightly as he took in the new world around him, and Sam knew he was in trouble. He loved this little boy with the deepest love imaginable and he would dedicate his entire life to making sure his son knew that—that he never wanted for anything. He'd turned shortly after that, tears in his eyes, to see if Mercedes' had caught the moment, only to find her bawling right along with him.

When they'd brought Cameron home, Sam would spend hours just watching him sleep and marveling at him, thanking God for blessing him with another piece of heaven on Earth. He'd been a one-man paparazzi crew with the amount of pictures and video he snapped—afraid to miss even the smallest thing, and he hadn't.

He'd caught everything from the first smile that had melted his heart with its sweetness. He'd caught the first tooth that poked out of Cameron's gums. That one he'd felt first, however. He'd stuck his finger into Cameron's mouth, something he'd done a million times before, and yelped when the little tooth bit down on his nail. Cameron had been startled at the noise, but ultimately dissolved into giggles and babbling, flailing his arms at his dad until Sam picked him up.

He remembered Cameron's first steps. He'd pulled himself onto his feet using the coffee table for support. He'd mastered this in the days before, but had usually flopped onto his diaper-clad butt every time he let go. This time, however, he'd managed to take a few steps while Sam and Mercedes looked on—Sam capturing the entire moment on his iPhone.

The walk had been short-lived as Sam had gotten a little too excited over the moment and burst into loud applause for his son, startling him. It'd taken him a few hours to get up to the task again and Sam had beat himself up about it for every single on of them. Once Cameron mastered the skill, however, he'd been a terror, getting into trouble at every turn. He'd walked and, pretty soon, run all over every navigable inch of their house—often with Tyler Chang right on his heels.

Sam remembered Cameron's first words. Mercedes had walked in on him one afternoon, shocked to find him coaching Cameron into saying 'daddy'.

"Hell to the no," Mercedes had protested, taking her son away. "I carried you around like a bowling ball in my belly for nine months. You kicked every available inch of my bladder. No, sir. 'Momma' better be the first thing you say or you'll get returned," she threatened playfully.

Cameron obviously knew what was best for him because it had been. He'd been about eight months old at the time. Mercedes had been out of the house for most of the day, out with Tina for a relaxing lunch date. Cameron had spent the whole morning making a strange humming sound that Sam didn't understand. It wasn't until Mercedes came home that the sound became intelligible. A chorus of 'mamamamamama' had spilled from his mouth at the sight of her, turning Mercedes into a mess of tears. He'd perfected it to just 'mama' by the time she was able to calm herself.

Sam remembered Cameron's first tantrum. He'd gotten upset, wanting ice cream while he was out at the park with his parents. Mercedes had said no, as she'd already prepared an ice cream treat to be had with dinner when they got home. Cameron threw a right fit at the news as the truck drove away. The new parents had been overwhelmed for a few seconds before Sam's instincts kicked in. "Cameron, quit it, now," he'd said firmly, surprised by the authority in his own voice. "Now, I'm sorry you're upset, but the answer's still no."

Mercedes had piped in with, "When you calm down, we can talk about it, but if you keep up with this, it's going to be no ice cream _and_ we're going straight home. You do not behave like this."

Cameron's screams had quieted to upset whimpers and then he'd finally gone silent, burying his face into Mercedes' legs to calm himself. When he'd lifted his puppy dog eyes to look at her, it'd taken all of her to resist running after the truck, but she knew giving in now would be reinforcing terrible behavior and they couldn't have that. He had to learn now.

Cameron had apologized to his parents shortly after that, getting hugs from both of them before Sam distracted him by picking him up and 'flying' him over to the swings. Cameron had forgotten about being upset by the time dinner came around, happily consuming his dessert.

Sam remembered Cameron's first day of school. He'd stood by proudly that morning, watching Cameron tie his shoelace all by himself, just like he'd taught him to. Cameron's little tongue poked out as he concentrated on his task—crossing the bunny ears and pulling them tight. When he was done, he'd looked up, giving Sam a look of pure joy as he lifted his little Converse-clad foot to show off his handiwork.

"Nice, little man!" he'd exclaimed, lowering his hand for a high-five. Cameron slapped his dad's hand with all he had, but then threw himself onto Sam's legs and hugged him. Sam had squatted then, pulling Cameron close to him with one hand. "Are you ready for this?" he'd asked as he adjusted Cameron's baby blue Superman t-shirt, before running a gentle hand through his son's curls.

Cameron had nodded enthusiastically, his green eyes wide with excitement. Fearless as ever, he'd definitely been ready for his first day. The same couldn't be said for his mother who'd been quiet that entire morning at breakfast, clearly in a panic about the whole thing. Things had only gotten worse at the school when they'd met up with Mike, Tina, and Tyler. The boys had been all set to go, but their moms had had a harder time, clinging to their boys until the last possible second—reminding them of all of the survival tips they'd been teaching them.

"They can't actually leave if you never let them go," Sam had said, smirking at them in amusement. He'd had to bite back a chuckle at the glare the pair of moms sent his way at the comment.

Sam and Mike had finally had to drag the reluctant pair away. Both of them had barely made it out of the building before they were breaking down. Mike and Sam had treated them to breakfast, both of them agreeing to some morning Mimosas to calm their nerves. It'd been a grand reunion that afternoon when the boys came home, excitedly sharing their tales from the day—genuinely happy to have been around the other kids and learning. It'd been easier for their mothers from there.

The first weeks of school had, of course, led to Cameron's first real illness and Sam remembered every second of that—how scared he'd felt. They'd dealt with minor things when Cameron was a baby—colds and things that left him fussy, but when he'd gotten the flu that led to a number of other situations, it'd really tested Sam's strength.

He'd walked into Cameron's room to wake him up before school only to find him burning up. He'd immediately picked up his son, intending to bring him back into his bedroom to Mercedes where they could talk about what to do. He'd been completely startled to find her in a similar state. He'd just about freaked out, helping both of them to get ready to go to the doctor. He'd listened intently to both doctors, taking notes on what he was supposed to do.

Mercedes' mom had also been a great help during that time, calming him down every time he started to panic about whether or not he would be able to do a good job. And he could never say how grateful he'd been to Tina and Mike for stopping by and helping him out as often as they could. They'd dropped off hygienic supplies as well as food while Sam had been too busy caring for his wife and his son to do it all.

It'd been a trying few days. He'd been rushing back and forth between their rooms initially, making sure they were both alright before he'd just decided to put them in the same room so he could take care of them more effectively. He'd been everything then—dad, husband, doctor, minstrel, and friend—and he couldn't have been more relieved when they came out of it...just in time for him to get sick. But, at least he'd had his great efforts reciprocated by his grateful family.

Cameron had excitedly helped Mercedes prepare Sam's food every day, eagerly bringing him his tray whenever he could—and often helping him eat some of it, too. He'd never forget how Cameron had insisted on singing him to sleep during those nights. He was a big believer and swore Sam's singing had helped him get better.

Sam remembered Cameron's first lost tooth. They'd been sitting at the dinner table as a family, Mercedes and Sam involved in a ridiculous debate about which Doritos flavor was better. Sam would always be partial to Cool Ranch, but Mercedes had a soft spot for original Nacho. Cameron had been looking back and forth between his parents, silently chewing and wondering why Spicy Sweet Chili was being neglected, when he'd stopped suddenly and interrupted the debate with a squeak.

"What's up?" Mercedes had asked, immediately concerned at the surprised look on her son's face. Cameron had immediately spit out his food and dug into it to pull out the fallen front tooth. The parents had been insanely excited—Sam immediately pulling out his phone to snap pictures of his son's toothless smile and Mercedes scurrying out of her chair to hug him. That night, after Sam had had his fun making Cameron say all the S-words he could think of, they'd read him a story about the tooth fairy, getting Cameron all excited about the visit he would receive.

Cameron had woken up to 'fairy dust' sprinkled all over him and his bed—Sam had gotten a little too excited with the glitter—and a molar shaped pillow with a ten dollar bill folded into the special slot. Cameron was much older when he'd found all the little baby teeth his mom collected, tucked into a molar shaped box in her closet.

Sam remembered watching Cameron start to grow into who he was—the big personality that started to break free from his little man that made him love him more with every passing second. Like, his tendency to talk more than was strictly necessary that often got him into a world of trouble. Like, his life-giving presence that immediately brightened up any room. Like, the hair that he refused to ever cut, even as the wild curls drove his mother crazy as they flopped to and fro. Like, his ridiculous sense of humor that he'd gotten straight from his father—and his mother would roll her eyes at whenever they both got carried away with it. Like, his taste in movies—great taste if you asked Sam—that he would always be compelled to act out with his father and quote at random.

He remembered the slew of things Cameron dabbled in while he tried to figure out exactly who he wanted to be.

The short-lived karate lessons when he'd watched all the Karate Kid movies with his dad and decided that was his calling in life.

The synchronized swimming lessons Sam had given him and Tyler—and Mike— that mainly made both boys laugh like loons in the pool.

The guitar lessons Sam had given him, laughing when Cameron declared that Baby by Justin Bieber was the first song he wanted to learn. Sam guessed he'd probably played that one too much. Sam had been a mess of tears one father's day, when Cameron had gotten pretty good, and decided to sing him a song he'd written about his awesome dad. He was only ten years old, then, and it was literally the cheesiest song in the world, but it'd meant the world to Sam anyway.

The fateful afternoon he and Mike had taken Cameron and Tyler to watch Real Madrid take on LA Galaxy and both boys had fallen in love. Cameron had literally spent the entire match on his feet, screaming like he had bets going on the results. Cameron had immediately started rambling on about the sport after that, looking up Real Madrid and begging his father to buy the sports package that would allow him to see all the matches. Sam had gotten him his first jersey soon after, Xabi being his favorite player.

Cameron begged to be signed up for the community's local team, and the rest was history, really. He'd lived and breathed the sport since then, having finally found something he was passionate about. His parents had never seen him so dedicated to something. He worked hard every single day to get better and better and his parents supported him at every turn, whatever way they could—driving him to and from practices, screaming their heads off in the bleachers, whatever it took. He'd stuck to it all through high school and now into college where he'd been recruited onto UCLA's team.

Sam remembered when they'd brought Lilly home and Cameron had gotten to hold his little sister for the first time. It was the quietest Cameron had ever been, staring at the small baby Sam had placed gingerly in his arms. He'd stayed quiet for the longest time, just looking at her in awe. Sam had been worried he might never say anything, but after a moment, he'd turned to his parents and declared her cute. "I love her already," he'd decided, softly running a finger over her forehead. Lilly had stirred at the contact and opened her eyes to him, simply staring back at him and Cameron smiled. "She's cute," he said with a little laugh, shortly after promising to be the best big brother ever. Sam had turned around to find Mercedes crying at the scene. He would have laughed at her if his own tears hadn't been seeping down his face at that moment. Instead, he'd just reached for her, bringing her under his arm, and basked in their perfect, little family.

Sam remembered all of these things, dipping in and out of memories as he hugged his son close to him, trying to come to terms with this new phase in Cameron's life, where he wouldn't be around for every little thing—where he had to let him go to grow up and be his own person. That was part of fatherhood, too, even if it sucked—even if it was the most terrifying thing he'd done to date.

He pulled back from Cameron, holding him by his shoulders, and looking into his face. Cameron looked back at him for a long moment, just staring at him. It wasn't long before that moment dissolved into fits of laughter.

"We are so lame right now," Cameron decided, wiping at his eyes as he laughed.

Mercedes chose this moment to wander into the room and both boys scrambled to get rid of their tears.

"I already saw," she informed them moving toward them with Lilly hot on her heels. "You do know we're only like an hour away, right?" she teased.

"Shut it," Sam said. "You cried the whole way here," he reminded her and Mercedes giggled softly.

"You're all set. Ty's downstairs saying goodbye to his parents. We're about to head out, too," she said and, as excited as Cameron had been for this new journey, he turned hesitant eyes to them now, everything suddenly becoming real. He and Tyler would be on their own.

Sam spoke up then, drawing everyone's attention. "I'm so proud of you," he said, smiling crookedly at Cameron, and Cameron swallowed thickly, knowing he was about to lose his battle with his tears again.

He'd been around his dad long enough to know about his way with words. He'd made fun of his mom countless times over the years for losing it. Every time he heard his dad start when he was around, and his mom would cry, he'd call out, "Them's the wooin' words," and effectively ruin the moment.

"I am," Sam continued. "You are just this awesome person that I am so proud to know. You are so smart, funny, driven, kind, talented—I just think back to when we were bringing you home from the hospital and I was so scared of everything that would come, so scared to be a dad even if it was everything I'd ever wanted. I would just think about this little life I was responsible for—just staring at you for hours in your crib."

"Creepy," Cameron interjected making his family laugh.

"Shut up," Sam said. "I did. I was terrified. So was your mom," he said pointing at Mercedes. She nodded as he continued. "We didn't know if we could do it, but every day you just became more and more independent. You just became your own little person and you showed us you weren't this helpless child. You had this _life._ You were fearless and you never let anything hold you back. I'll probably never know how to express how proud I am to have played any part in shaping who you are. You are everything I dreamed you'd be and more. I'm in awe of you."

"We both are," Mercedes added, tears clearly welling up in her eyes.

Cameron, for once was quiet, he swallowed back another lump in his throat and nodded at his dad.

"Now, you're doing this. You're going out into the world. It's a new adventure and it terrifies me. I know it terrifies you, too. I want you to know, though, the only reason I'm not chaining you to the house—," Sam started, but Cameron interrupted here again.

"_Creepy_," he said and Sam rolled his eyes while Mercedes and Lilly laughed.

"Zip your mouth and let me finish. The only reason I'm not freaking out, I know you can do this, Cam. I know you're ready. You have a good head on your shoulders. Your mom and I worked hard every day to make sure of that. We believe in you and what you can become. Never doubt yourself, because honestly, the sky is the limit for you—maybe even beyond," Sam continued, his voice growing thicker with emotion and conviction with every word he spoke.

"And know that, you're off on this new adventure, but it doesn't mean you're on your own," Mercedes added. "You'll always have us. You'll always have the family. We all love you and we're all so unbelievably proud of you," she finished, pulling her son into her embrace one last time. Cameron chuckled when it soon turned into a teary-eyed group hug. For the next few moments only the sounds of their sniffles echoed in the room.

Soon, they found themselves out by the car. Mike and Tina had parked next to Sam and Mercedes. Sam and Mike laughed as Mercedes and Tina held on to their boys one last time, tears in their eyes. Sam couldn't resist the comment. "You know, they can't leave if you never let them go," he said, chuckling when he got the same reaction as the first time he'd said it. Both moms turned their glares to him and he sighed.

It'd been a terrifying experience then, too, but they'd gotten through it. He had no doubt they would again.

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><p>AN: This got so ridiculously long and turned into a bit of a Samcedes fam overview lol. I hope y'all will enjoy it anyway. Yes, Cameron eventually moves into a dorm at UCLA with Tyler. Never fear, though. He'll still be around for other one-shots. You know how the LWverse rolls by now. One day he's 19 and the next he's 2 lol. **Please review.**


	39. Lazy Day

Sam smiled as he lay in bed, thoroughly enjoying the first lazy day he'd had in months. Beside him, Mercedes stirred slightly, and Sam let out a contented sigh at the feel of her snuggling further into his side. It'd taken some doing, but the two of them had finally managed to take some time off of their busy schedules. There were special plans—no grand vacations—just some much needed time to enjoy each other again without the frills and stress of their careers.

They'd woken up earlier that morning to take Lilliana to school and the eight-year old would be gone for the next several hours–leaving her loving, but glad, parents home alone for the entirety of that time. Sam was practically giddy with the thought of what they could get up to.

As if on cue, Mercedes chose that moment to stretch her tired limbs languidly next to him, letting out a breathy sigh that bordered on a moan as she did. Her breath tickled Sam's neck with the action and he turned to her smiling like a cat that had just spotted a tasty canary. Immediately his hands found their way onto her hips. Her eyes lazily fluttered open and she offered him a soft, sleepy smile that made his heart thud in his chest. _She was so beautiful._

"What was that?" he asked her, dipping his face toward her and nuzzling her jaw with his nose.

"What was what?" Mercedes asked—her voice rough with sleep.

"That sound you just made," Sam clarified before starting an assault on her jaw line with his lips.

Mercedes whimpered slightly, but answered, "I was just breathing."

"Breathe again. I like it," Sam said, making her laugh. It soon turned into another whimper as he focused his attentions to her pulse point, letting his tongue join in the fun. He moaned with anticipation when her hands slipped under his t-shirt, her fingers running over his lower abs.

She'd just started to play with the elastic band of the pajama pants he was wearing, when a huge weight dropped onto them both, startling the kissing couple apart. Before Sam could even ask what was going on, Cameron's voice rang out from his spot in between his newly separated parents.

"What are you two kids up to?" he asked, eyeing them knowingly.

Sam immediately closed his eyes and started to mutter. "He's not here. It's a nightmare. I'm going to open my eyes and only my wife will be in this bed. He's not here. He's not here."

He opened his eyes after that. Cameron was most definitely still there and Mercedes had buried half of her face into her pillow. Her giggles rang out in their bedroom.

"Dad, is that any way to treat your only son?" Cameron asked in the most offended tone he could muster. Sam stared at him blankly. "I'm home," Cameron added.

"Yeah," Sam said dryly. "So I gathered when you tumbled on top of me."

"What are you doing here? We were expecting you this weekend," Mercedes said on a yawn, face still half-buried in her pillow.

"Professor James cancelled tomorrow's class. _Holla_." The last part he said exaggeratedly loud, holding up a hand for one of his parents to high-five in a show of their equal excitement. He only shrugged when they both just stared blankly back at him.

"Anyway, he did, and I have about a mountain of laundry to do so I came home early. It's been really bad these last few days. I've been wearing the same jeans for like three days," he informed them.

"Well, thank you for getting into my bed with them on," Mercedes replied.

"_And_," Cameron went on, ignoring her comment completely. "As per our Skype session yesterday afternoon, Lilliana informs me that a new batch of snickerdoodles has graced the cookie jar and I came to ensure that a good majority of them end up in my belly."

"Speaking of your sister. She's missed you," Sam started. "She'll be out of school soon. You should go get her, since you're here."

"Lil?" Cameron asked a little absently, his mind clearly still with the snickerdoodles.

"Got any other sisters?" Sam asked.

"Considering what I just walked in on earlier, I couldn't be sure," Cameron said turning to look at them both. He let that comment sit there for a minute as his parents laughed—his face squinted as if in deep thought.

"Yeah. I just completely grossed myself out with that one. I'll be on my way. I'm gonna go meet Ty for lunch. I'll pick up Lilly after," he said getting up from their bed.

"And take her out for ice cream for a while after," Sam shouted at his son's retreating presence. "A _long_ while."

"You're not making the awkward any better," Cameron shouted back and then he was gone.

Sam sighed as they heard him descending the stairs two at a time like he usually did. He turned back to Mercedes, smiling again. He was just about to pick things up where they left off when a thought struck him. Immediately he was up at the door, locking it before making his way back to his wife. He wouldn't risk anymore unexpected interruptions.

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><p>Lilliana smiled as she exited the school building with the rest of the students that would be waiting by the car line. In her hand she clutched a picture she'd drawn of her family, taking extra care to get them all just right—her dad and his short blond hair, the t-shirts he liked to wear and his Converse. He was holding hands with her mom who had mid-length wavy do and a nice purple dress with purple shoes. Next to them stood Cameron in his soccer uniform with his long curly locks. Lilly stood next to Cameron, holding his hand, her two poofs represented by two black circles at the side of her drawn head.<p>

She couldn't wait to show it to her mom and dad, knowing they'd be proud of her. Mom would probably want to put it on the fridge, but and she'd already planned to keep it safe in her room until the weekend so she could show it to Cameron.

She talked to him every day on Skype, but it wasn't the same as when he'd been home with her every day. She missed having him around, being able to share things like this with him whenever she wanted. She missed being able to just walk into his room to bug him when she pleased. She missed him being around to play with her.

She missed watching his shenanigans at the dinner table—her favorite had been when he would pretend he was a giant eating a little tree as he ate his broccoli. Her mother would always tell him to stop even as she laughed and dinner would usually devolve into high jinks from there.

She sighed as she thought about it, looking at her picture again. She couldn't wait until the weekend to see him. She was so enthralled with her picture, that she didn't notice her teacher had been calling her name until the woman put a gentle hand on Lilly's shoulder.

"Oh sorry, Miss Mae," Lilliana said, grabbing onto her teacher's hand as they headed toward the car line. Lilliana frowned as she looked down the line of cars. None of them were her father's car. She was just about to tell her teacher so when she noticed one that looked like Cameron's.

Her heart thudded with excitement as she looked toward the driver and her eyes settled on her brother, smiling brightly and waving at her from the driver's seat. She was just about to take off as fast as her legs could carry her when her teacher tugged her back. She remembered the no running rule quickly and tamped down her excitement as she was led to the car. Her smile grew with every step and it seemed like forever before Cameron's car door was opened and her teacher let her climb into the back seat. She was across the seat in seconds, leaning across the console to hug her big brother.

"Hi, Lilly Bean," he greeted happily. "Are you surprised?"

"Cammy," was all she could say as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"I missed you, bug," he Cameron said, patting her back. Lilliana's only response was to squeeze him tighter—glad to have him there with her again.

Things only got better when she'd gotten settled in the seat and he informed her they were going for ice cream. Lilliana was sure it was her lucky day.

She consumed her treat happily at the ice cream parlor when they got there, her smile a veritable beam as Cameron marveled over the picture she'd drawn. It was good to have her brother home.

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><p><strong>AN: **Oh you know, writing myself some fluffy things that make me smile. I hope you're smiling, too! **Please review!**


	40. Hard Questions

**A/N:** Sometimes things want to be written. I can't control it. This started out with me writing a conversation between Lilly and Sam about something else entirely and then I just ended up cutting that entire part out because this started to take over. I feel like it's pretty heavy, which isn't really the Little Wonders boat, but I can't help what I think about and want to tackle at times. I hope no one is too bothered. I certainly hope I don't offend anyone. I am extremely nervous about posting this because the topic is so sensitive, but I have gone through this with my family. I have had family and friends that have gone through this. I have worked with people like this in my profession—I'm a teacher, btw. It's a very relevant issue to me and I just hope I did it some justice. Reviews would be really greatly appreciated because I'm so nervous about the content. Anyway, I'll stop talking and just take the plunge. Here it goes.

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><p>The family was spread all over the kitchen of Sam's family home in Tennessee, where they were spending their summer, each involved with their own task. It'd been a wonderful few days since they'd been there, where Dwight, Sam, and Stevie had taken Cameron fishing and horseback riding—and there were still so many things left for them to show the eager seven-year old.<p>

As much as Sam loved their Los Angeles life—he and Mercedes had really done well for themselves there—he'd been ecstatic to introduce Cameron to the place he'd grown up. He was so happy to have been able to give his parents this house after their years of struggling. He hoped Cameron would build some of the same unforgettable memories he had when he was growing up there.

Sam had been wrapped up in his work, making digital sketches for his next comic cover on his computer. Mercedes was puttering around the space with Dwight and Stacey, the three of them trying out some new recipes for that night's dinner together. Mary and Stevie were off upstairs.

Cameron had been a little off since he got home from his first day of camp that afternoon. They'd decided to send him after it got rave reviews from one of the Evans' family friends, claiming they had a million fun activities that they did with the kids everyday and it would really make the most of Cameron's vacation. They figured it was just the stress of the day—meeting new kids and getting used to a new schedule. Sam and Mercedes decided to keep him close to help him feel better, hoping he'd do better with it the next day.

He'd been idly coloring a picture next to his father, when he suddenly—absently—threw out a question that stopped his family in their tracks.

"What am I?"

All stopped in the kitchen at this. He abandoned the coloring page he'd been working on to focus his attention on his father. Sam and Mercedes glanced at each other, sharing a look, before they both turned back to Cameron.

They'd gone through the random questioning with Cameron before this—and there'd definitely been some trying times and awkward answers when they'd been caught off guard. They knew that one question could easily lead to twelve, and one topic could soon lead somewhere else entirely. They weren't entirely sure what he was asking _now_, though.

Cameron had once started asking what a wife was. Sam asserted that a wife was a woman that you loved very much, more than any other woman in the world. This woman loved you and protected you and made you very happy.

"Like momma?" Cameron asked and his father nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, just like your momma," Sam confirmed. From there, Sam had found himself trying to get Cameron to understand at three-years old that he simply couldn't marry his momma when he grew up, even if she were the '_best momma in the whole world._' It had definitely been an eye opener in trying to find the right words and they'd definitely gotten better at navigating the crazy questions Cameron threw their way.

_"Why do I need to sleep if I'm not tired? You're not sleeping." "Why is water wet?" "Why aren't there any more dinosaurs?" "Mom, how long have you been my_ mom?"

Sam and Mercedes had taken to giving Cameron his own question box as he got older. He'd write them down instead of bombarding his stumped parents with them, and they'd Google them if necessary—which it usually was. They'd pretty much heard everything.

_This_ question, however, startled them and Sam's first instinct was to clarify exactly what he was asking. "How do you mean?" Sam asked, a little confused.

"Am I like you or like momma?" he asked.

Now Sam's task was finding out _why_. For all his crazy questions, Cameron had never questioned this before.

Instead of answering why, however, Cameron's question was immediately followed by a few more questions.

He was suddenly very fixated on his appearance. Why was his skin color different than his mother's and his father's? Why was his hair curly? The questions weren't _entirely_ unexpected. Though Cameron had never asked them before, Sam and Mercedes understood he might someday have them. It was the hint of agitation behind his words that threw them off.

Before they could start to answer him, Sam picked up on that tinge in his voice that he'd never heard before. Cameron's confusion was clearly distressing him, and they couldn't really understand why he was getting so upset.

The red flag came when Cameron was suddenly convinced he didn't look like them. This new apparent doubt seemed to frustrate him, bringing him to tears as he kept asking more questions—ranging from simply wanting to understand why he looked the way he did to wondering if they still loved him. The latter _clearly_ troubled his parents.

Sam and Mercedes were overwhelmed by the sudden barrage. "Cam, honey, what's going on?" Mercedes asked, moving closer to the table and abandoning her cooking all together. Dwight and Stacey stood nearby regarding the situation with considerable worry. "Why are you asking all of this? Did something happen at camp?"

It took a half hour of talking before they got to the root of the issue, and his mother's suspicions were confirmed. She could feel bile rising in her throat as he finally explained what happened. Sam's expression mirrored what she felt inside.

A teacher from Cameron's camp had disgustingly assumed Mercedes was his nanny when she'd dropped him off that morning. When she'd asked Cameron if his 'nanny' would be coming back to pick him up that afternoon, Cameron had corrected her. The teacher had then proceeded to question him about it, telling him she didn't believe him. "She's been taking care of you a long time?" she'd asked him and the seven-year old had simply walked away in his frustration, knowing he'd be in trouble if he acted out—no matter the cause. God didn't like ugly. His mother always said it.

The teacher hadn't even waited for Cameron to walk fully out of earshot before she turned to one of the other teachers. So, naturally he heard her when she started to ramble on about Cameron probably being adopted, if anything.

Sam's and Mercedes' faces were mutinous as Cameron finished his story with tears in his eyes. They shot each other one look and immediately both were headed for the door. Dwight stepped around the kitchen island to calm the situation. As much as he wanted to tear that teacher a new one, it would do no good to go down to that school hot-headed.

The livid parents finally agreed, taking the moment to spend with Cameron—assuring him that they loved him always, that he was perfect from the hair on his head to the bottom of his feet, and that his teacher was so very wrong for saying any of what she said.

Soon after that, they'd headed straight down to the school,—Dwight tagging along to make sure neither of them clubbed the lady, no matter how deserving she was or how satisfying it would be. Cameron stayed back with Mary, Stacey, and Stevie playing a rousing game of Go Fish. It warmed his parents' hearts to see him at least smiling again.

At the school, the teacher nervously laughed off her 'misstep', not even having the awareness to apologize, as the two parents glared murderously at her. "I was just _surprised_," the teacher explained shamelessly. "I wanted to make sure he was going with the right person."

"No, you are just _unbelievably ignorant_," Mercedes corrected with Sam emphatically nodding his agreement next to her. "If you had a question, even as asinine as that, you should have come to me with it instead of bombarding my son."

"How are you even _allowed_ in a school with that?" Sam had asked, gesturing in the woman's general direction, as if her ignorance was something tangible. He didn't even have words for what he was feeling toward her at the moment. "We've always taught our son to be proud of himself—every hair on his head, every cell in his body, _everything_ that he is. It's your job as his teacher to build on that, not destroy it."

"That-that w-wasn't my intention," the teacher spluttered weakly. "I assure you. I was simply clarifying—," she started.

"You were making a judgment!" Mercedes corrected again. "You saw something that didn't fit right with your sensibilities and you started to run your mouth with my son in complete earshot."

"I-I just wanted to be sure—," she tried to defend.

"It's none of your business," Sam answered, cutting her off. "If you wanted to be sure, you pick up a phone. You don't start making assumptions about someone's family life. You had _no_ right, not an ounce, to question him the way you did—to say the things you said, and to spread them around with the rest of the staff. Is this the way things usually run around here?"

"No-no," the woman answered. She looked as if she wanted to say more the way her mouth kept opening and closing like a fish, but nothing came out.

"What you did was _beyond_ unprofessional—downright offensive—and I _will_ make sure both the board of directors here and that every school board in this state are aware," Mercedes informed the woman, whose face was now the picture of distress. _Good_, Mercedes thought.

"You can't," she said weakly.

"I can," Mercedes informed her. "In fact I have a meeting scheduled with the board of this county later this week. They wanted to schedule a school visit and a performance for the top school in September, but now, I will have something additional on my agenda. You can be assured of that."

The woman's face drained of blood as she finally recognized who Mercedes was. Her apology was met with an uninterested scoff as Mercedes walked back toward the front office with Sam and Dwight hot on her heels.

They raised hell with the camp's board of directors after that—demanding to know how someone at that level of ineptitude could be allowed any role in molding the minds of small children. They apologized profusely, offering everything under the sun to keep Cameron in their program—but it'd already been decided.

Sam and Mercedes were pulling him. He could explore the best of Tennessee with his family and people who would help him grow without messing with his head.

"We brought him here because we felt this program would be a service to him," Mercedes told them. "Instead, we now have to carefully weed out the seeds of self-doubt and small-mindedness that one of your staff members has brought into his life. We know he'll encounter situations like this wherever he goes—because let's face it, as sad as it is, ignorance exists everywhere—but, we could _never_ let him receive any kind of education in a place where a woman like _that_ is employed—where other teachers stand by and allow it to happen. We won't stand to have our son's mind affected by that poison," Mercedes continued, leaving nothing uncertain. "You should know that we _fully_ intend to report her and this incident to the school board and take it as high up as we can. People like that have no business educating children. We want to do what we can to make sure that she will never do to another child what she did to our son," Mercedes finished.

The board assured them they were fully agreed on that fact and were prepared to let the woman go, whether or not they pulled Cameron. She and Sam hoped the teacher would be as '_surprised_' when she was let go as she was that Mercedes wasn't Cameron's nanny.

"_Oooooh_," Mercedes said lowly, shaking her head as she thought of it again. The fingers of both hands flexed in and out. Dwight and Sam didn't say anything as they looked at her. They already knew what she was feeling. It _would_ have been nice to punch that woman in the face.

"We love you," Mercedes told Cameron later that night as they were tucking him in. "There is nothing in the world that will make us stop loving you. Not ever."

Sam nodded and added, "And maybe you don't look exactly like me or your mommy, but you're not supposed to. You're Cameron. You're a Jones _and_ an Evans. You got some of you from me and you got some from your momma," Sam explained.

"You have your daddy's hair, but it's curly like mine," Mercedes said.

"You have green eyes like me, but they're big like your momma's eyes," Sam added.

"You have a _magnificent_ pair of lips which you _definitely_ got from us both," Mercedes said teasingly. "You don't have to look exactly like us because you're Cameron and you're perfect," Mercedes told him.

"You're our _favorite_ Cameron," Sam added, making Cameron laugh.

"I'm your _only_ Cameron," he said with a giggle.

"We know. But you're our favorite," Sam informed him solemnly. "Understand?"

Cameron gave Sam a familiar crooked smile as he nodded.

"And you're amazing," Mercedes added bringing her son in for a hug. "And wonderful and awesome and perfect and fantastic and brilliant and incredible and marvelous," Mercedes continued, squeezing Cameron tighter and nuzzling her nose into his neck to tickle him. He giggled louder and louder as he tried to pull away from her. He finally gave up and just went with it, sighing contentedly when she finally stopped, but still held him close.

"The absolute _best_ thing that ever happened to us," Sam added. "We love you so much. Always remember that." Cameron nodded.

Mercedes did, too, and prayed he always would.

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><p><strong>AN:** Please review?


	41. You Wanna Catch a Bug?

**A/N:** I had to call in sick today. Lost my voice and have been having coughing fits since last night, so I just needed to rest. Apparently, writing Little Wonders is a part of resting. You should know I'm blushing so much at this first bit because I cannot write smut and I feel like a crossed into new territory with this beginning, even though it's like nothing. I just...yeah. It makes me uncomfortable to try and describe what's going on. Let me stop. Anyway, I hope you like it. **I dedicate it to all my Forever & Always readers whose emotions I messed with during the weekend.**

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><p>Mercedes released a contented moan as Sam's mouth moved back up her body, leaving a trail of hot kisses in its wake. Her limbs felt like jelly after what his tongue had just done to her body, but she tightened her arms and legs as best she could around him, trying to get her breathing back under control. With all the noise she'd just made, she was infinitely glad they'd put Cameron to bead a while before.<p>

Sam's mouth moved to her neck and she took in another shallow breath, gasping and helplessly pushing her hips against his as he settled between her legs. He softly nuzzled her jaw with his nose, moaning, and making _her_ mewl quietly as she rocked her hips into his again.

She felt him, hard and insistent against her thigh, and she was just about to guide him home, when his cell phone rang—_again_.

Immediately her hands dropped from their projected course, falling away from his body and limply onto the bed. She huffed out a frustrated breath, turning her eyes toward the ceiling, before groaning in annoyance.

"Baby, either you answer him and deal with whatever it is now, or I leave you here and take care of myself _without_ your help," Mercedes griped. "I can't deal with this."

She'd been out of town for a month before this night, and alone time with her husband was _severely_ overdue.

Mike Chang had seemingly set out to disallow it, however, as his 'Guy Love' ringtone had been blowing up Sam's phone for the last 20 minutes. Every time Sam disregarded it, intent on nothing but his wife in that moment, Mike had only called back—and Mercedes had had enough. _Why was his phone even on?_ She'd turned hers off completely in preparation for that night, knowing she'd want nothing to do with the world outside her family.

Sam pulled away from Mercedes at her words. Gauging by her expression, she was completely serious and he couldn't have that. He looked toward the phone, having half a mind to turn it off altogether so he could get back to what he really wanted to be doing, but Mike was his 'guy love' after all. Maybe he really needed him or something.

Sam placed a placating kiss on his wife's frowning lips, apologizing and promising it wouldn't take long, before he reached for the phone. A bit out of breath, he answered. "Dude, there better be Jumanji levels of destruction outside. You _know _she just got back," Sam said, making it very clear this was both an interruption and a very, _very_ uncool one at that.

"What do you mean you're outside?" Sam asked. Mercedes immediately perked up at this and sat up, putting her hand on Sam's shoulder in concern. "_Who called you?_" Sam turned to Mercedes with an incredulous look and Mercedes looked back with wide-eyes, desperately wanting to know what was going on. "But, Cameron's sleeping. We put him to bed an hour ago." He looked to Mercedes and whispered, "Mike says Cam called them and said we needed help."

Mercedes shot him a disbelieving look and immediately slipped out of bed, rushing into the bathroom to clean herself up a bit. Moments later, she emerged in a bathrobe and headed for the door. Sam sighed at the sight, looking down into his lap. _To be continued_, he thought, and blew out a breath. "We'll be right there," he said into the phone, then disconnected.

A few minutes later, after slipping on a pair of jeans and thinking of all manner of things to fix his _situation_, he followed after Mercedes, finding her downstairs with her face dropped into her palm, while a smirking Tina, a laughing Mike—who held a sleeping Tyler in his arms—and an indeed wide awake and concerned-looking Cameron surrounded her. Cameron watched his father intently from his spot against his mom as Sam walked into the room. His big eyes drooped with worry and he bunched the material of his Superman pajama pants with a tiny fist as he looked on.

"What is going on?" Sam said, looking around the room in confusion.

"Your son called," Mike recounted with an amused chuckle. "It seems he woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and heard some strange noises coming out of momma and daddy's room. Momma kept calling your name, but you wouldn't answer. You just kept making sick noises like your tummy hurt. You had us worried, so we kept calling. Mercedes tells us you're just fine, though."

Tina threw her head back and Mercedes only shook her head, not even bothering to lift it off her palm as she blushed. _Embarrassing_.

"He said," Tina started, then had to stop because of her laughter. "He—." Again she stopped, putting her hand over her heart as the giggles overwhelmed her. "Oh my God." She took a deep breath after a moment and started again. "Cameron, tell them what you told us, baby," Tina prompted.

Cameron looked up from his spot leaning on his mother's shoulder. He didn't know what was so funny about his parents being so terribly ill, but he spoke up. "You were makin' noises like when I have a tummy ache, but really, _really_ loud. Did you catch a bug?" The pout in the five-year old's green eyes as he asked melted Sam's heart, even as he blushed a splendid shade of maroon.

Tina erupted into more giggles at the question, even letting out a snort, as she looked at Mercedes. Mercedes refused to move her face from her palm as the heat of her blush prickled her skin, but she did reach out a hand to smack her laughing friend. It only incited more laughter from her and Mike.

Cameron looked at everyone, confused. This wasn't funny.

"We're, uh…_yeah_. We caught a bug," Sam explained and rolled his eyes when Mike raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Shut it," he said in warning.

Cameron's features drooped in worry. "But, we're gonna take some medicine and it'll go away. We'll be all good by morning, little man. No need to worry," Sam consoled. He moved across the living room and sat next to Cameron, ruffling his son's curls.

That seemed to settle it and Cameron smiled, returning his head to its previous position on Mercedes' shoulder.

"Good," he said, shifting his smile toward his dad. "The noises were scaring me."

Sam blushed again and Mercedes only shook her head as Mike and Tina went on laughing.

As grateful as Sam and Mercedes were that his friends had dropped everything to come over at Cameron's call, they were pushing the laughing family out the door moments later, knowing they'd never be allowed to live this down. _Just great_.

Next, they went through another bedtime routine with their five-year old, blushing madly as Cameron went through all the tips they'd ever taught him for getting through a stomach bug. It was heartwarming because his amount of concern for them was the sweetest thing ever—but also _dreadfully_ embarrassing. Mercedes didn't think she'd ever seen Sam so red. She swore the ruddy tone of his cheeks would stay that way for at least a couple days.

It was quiet in their bedroom in the moments after they'd just returned to it. Sam dropped onto the bed and Mercedes followed. Sam wasn't sure which one of them started first, but suddenly they were both laughing raucously and his laughter only grew worse when he looked over to find Mercedes with a pillow over her face, still hiding in shame.

"At least he called _them_ and not our parents," Sam offered. "Though, I'm sure by this point, they must know we have sex."

"Yeah, pretty sure they figured that one out about 5 years ago when we presented them with a grandson," Mercedes replied, finally moving the pillow away from her face. "Unless they think Cameron was immaculately conceived."

"I'm sure your dad probably tells himself that so he can resist the urge to pull out my molars," Sam said remembering Mr. Jones' favorite threat all through high school and college, before Sam put a generous-sized ring worth two years of savings on it. Mercedes had almost killed him then, even as she cried about how beautiful it was, but they'd been alright in the end. They could more than afford it now.

"He loves you," Mercedes reassured him. She turned with a yawn and reached out to pat his shoulder. The ring he'd been randomly thinking about glinted in his line of vision as a soft light from the window across from their bed hit it.

"Love is a bit strong," Sam answered, grabbing her hand and running his finger across her rings. "I'd say, 'accepts'. I'll always be the boy that took his daughter away and defiled her." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her ring finger gently. "Can't say I'm sorry about it."

"Yeah, if this were the 1920s," Mercedes replied, smiling at his action. They were silent for a moment after that, their hands idly playing with together. It was sweetly non-sexual in that moment, just them enjoying being near one another again after four weeks apart. Mercedes linked their ring hands, lacing and unlacing their fingers playfully while Sam looked on with a small smile. They laughed spontaneously as they thought back to the nights events. In that time, Mercedes found her way back into Sam's arms and smiled when she felt his lips on her once again, and his hands at the tie of her robe.

"Wanna catch a bug?" he whispered with a waggle of his eyebrows and Mercedes snorted, nodded her head gently, and pressed her lips to his.

A couple days later, Mercedes received a text from Tina on her phone, confirming that night would be with them for a long, _long_ time.

**Tina C. Chang² to Mercedes J. Evans:** I hope your bug is all better now, bee. I think Mike and I are coming down with the same one. Wanna watch Tyler tonight? ;) We should get lunch today, by the way. Love you!

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><p><strong>AN: Please review? I'd really appreciate it.**


	42. I'll Never Let Go

**A/N:** If ever you doubted I had issues, this puts all doubt to rest. I do. Possibly the dumbest LW I've ever written. Oh, well.

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><p>Sam pulled away from his work table with a frustrated sigh. The ideas just weren't flowing tonight. <em>Last<em> night, he'd been hit with a burst of inspiration for a new plot line in his comic book series. Like, he was going to win a Reuben with how awesome the shit he'd been thinking was.

When he'd sat down to get to work, however, everything that came out seemed heavy and forced. Every sentence he wrote, he deleted a moment later, until the only thing written on the page before him was, 'alsdjfladkshfasldhfalsdkfjaa lsdkjf.' It was the perfect representation of the clusterfuck that had become his brain at the moment.

He shut the lid of his laptop with another sigh, resolving to give it a break for a couple of hours. Focusing on something else for a bit would relax him and he'd be back to to writing awesome shit in no time. He knew the perfect distraction, too.

He smiled for the first time since his words had started failing him as he headed down the hall to his bedroom. He'd left Mercedes in there earlier doing her 'pregnancy stretches'. He'd totally wanted to stay and _observe_ but, Mercedes had labeled it her 'me time' and shooed him and his leering eyes away. Maybe in the time he'd been gone, she'd changed her mind—he hoped, at least.

He approached the door slowly, planning to peer around it and find a way to weasel his way in. His plans were dashed, however, when he found the room completely pitched in darkness. Dammit. She was asleep—and he definitely wouldn't try to wake her. He'd tried that once. He'd barely made it out alive.

He was about to walk away and head for the kitchen—some Cool Ranch Doritos might do the trick—when he heard a muffled sob. Immediately he stepped into the room, surprised to find her sitting up in the dark, crying hard into her comforter. This was his first experience with pregnancy, and he was starting to learn that it made Mercedes cry—_a lot_. She'd been completely chipper when he left her.

He couldn't imagine what had got her going this time. He'd find out, though. Her tears were his weakness and he considered it his duty to make them go away every time—whatever it took. Whether it was wearing a hat way too small for his head to make her feel good about knitting, painting a wall so his unborn son wouldn't think his room was ugly, buying all the baby clothes they liked in five different sizes, or immediately baby proofing the house he wouldn't be walking around in for a year to keep him safe—Sam wasn't going to argue with any of it. He'd tried that once. She'd cried for an entire day.

He crossed the room and sat on the bed, gathering her into his arms. "Baby, what's wrong?" he asked gently. He took her face between two hands and forced her to look at him. "What happened?"

"She shouldn't have let him go, Sam! She promised!" Mercedes wailed, two big fat tears making their way onto her face and rolling down her cheeks. Her puffy eyes and wet face said they were not the first.

Sam's brow creased in confusion. "_Who_? -what?"

"Jack!" Mercedes explained, but Sam was still at a loss. "Why didn't she move over? She could have tried again! That couldn't have been the only damn board in the whole sea! Rose let him go!"

Understanding dawned and Sam struggled not to laugh. She was _clearly_ devastated and any small snicker would probably earn him a bed on the couch for the night. He was speaking from experience because...he'd tried that once. As comfortable as their couch was, he wouldn't give up his favorite spot pressed against her for anything. So, he only held on to her, letting her sob until she quieted a little while later.

"What did we say about Leo movies while pregnant, babe? You do this every time," Sam said seriously thinking of the Leo movies that had ended in sobfests—_all. of. them_.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape? She'd barely made it through the first few scenes. Catch Me If You Can? She'd made it all the way to the end. One hiccup was the only warning she gave him and then the waterworks had started. The Departed? She'd screamed when it happened and turned into a sobbing mess from there. Inception? She couldn't decide if she was happy or sad at the end so she just cried about all of it. Revolutionary Road? Forget it.

Mercedes only sighed at his words. "It came on after my shower," she explained miserably. "I was channel surfing. You know I have to watch if I catch it. I meant to stop when they hit the iceberg, but..." Her words trailed off as another bout of tears hit.

Sam bit his lip, desperately trying to quiet his laughter, as he continued to pat her back.

"I wouldn't have let you go. I would have moved over on that big ass plank for you," she whispered quietly after a moment. She let out a sleepy yawn against his shoulder.

At that, Sam _did_ laugh, chuckling quietly against her shoulder. That was as much a declaration of her undying love as any that she'd ever uttered before. Hallmark had nothing on his girl. He pulled back to regard her when he'd composed himself, and shook his head at her puffy eyes. He kissed each one quickly and settled his lips against hers, lingering there slightly longer.

"I love you, too," he said.

He pushed her back gently into the bed, settling in front of her. His hand settled on her belly, running over her bump, while the fingers on his other hand brushed through her hair. Soon enough, she was asleep—Sam made doubly sure—and then he was laughing so hard tears ran down his face as he finally let out what he'd been holding in the whole time.

One day, when she wasn't pregnant, he'd bring this night up again and mock her endlessly, but tonight he'd leave her be. She couldn't help herself.

When he'd finally gotten himself under control, he settled in next to her again, content to just relax and let his mind drift as he continued to rub her belly.

It wasn't long before his comic was back on his mind, and he smiled as the opening lines flowed suddenly and flawlessly into his head. It was just the start he needed! With a parting kiss, he slipped out of bed and headed back to his office. That Reuben would be his!

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><p><strong>AN: Review? Please?**


	43. Knock Knock

**A/N: Okay, I know I said the last one was dumb, but this might take the cake. LOL.**

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><p>"Daddy! Knock knock!" Cameron yelled out, bursting excitedly into his parents' bedroom. His outburst abruptly startled their attention away from the movie they'd been watching, making Mercedes gasp and put her hand over her now-racing heart, while Sam just simply gaped at their energetic six-year old.<p>

"_Knock knock_, dad!" Cameron yelled again, practically bouncing in front of their bed on the balls of his feet. He grabbed onto Sam's hand and smiled, his expression showing his eagerness for his father's participation.

"Jesus, little man," Sam said. "_Easy_."

To this Cameron loudly responded, "Knock knock!" He pulled on Sam's hand hard and Mercedes giggled at his excitement.

"I'd answer him before he takes your hand off," she advised Sam from her position, lying sideways on their bed with her head in Sam's lap. Sam laughed, but didn't risk it. An eager Cameron didn't know the force of his own strength.

"Who's there, buddy?" Sam finally asked with a small crooked smile. Cameron grinned even wider than he'd already been, which his parents hadn't thought possible.

"Doris," Cameron answered loudly, already giggling at whatever punch line was swirling in his mind. His curls bounced along with his little shaking body.

Sam and Mercedes shot each other an amused look, shaking their heads, before they turned back to Cameron. "Doris, who?" Sam obliged.

Almost before he could finish the question, Cameron answered. "Doris locked! That's why I'm knockin'!" At that, he nearly fell over with the force of his giggles, tickled tears in his eyes, while Mercedes and Sam looked at each other again. They stared at each other in silence for a second, simply marveling at just how bad joke had been. Mercedes was the first to let out a loud snort and Sam followed her right into her subsequent laughing fit.

A moment later, when they'd calmed down and Cameron had left the room again, Sam sighed. "Our kid's a big dork," he said, chuckling lightly and shaking his head. "That was awful."

Mercedes looked up at her husband from her spot and extended a fist in front of his face. "Tree," she said, shaking that fist. She joined her other fist right below that one and said, "Apple." She looked at Sam pointedly and Sam gave her the stink eye.

"Pot. Kettle," he said copying her action with his fists in front of her face.

"Whatever," Mercedes protested with a laugh. "I am nowhere near as big a dork as either of you."

"Says the girl who dragged me to see Captain America and The Avengers like fifty times," Sam reminded her, thinking of a few years back when Mercedes had most likely been responsible for a quarter of those movies' grosses. He'd been so proud, thinking his tastes were finally rubbing off on her.

"Okay, one, I didn't exactly have to pull your arm. You wanted to see them just as bad," she said. "And two, Chris Evans is hot as hell." She laughed outright as his eyes widened in realization.

"What about all the times we saw Dark Knight Rises?" Sam asked, suspicious now. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Joseph Gordon Levitt," she answered without hesitation. "I would say Tom Hardy, too, but he was creepy as hell in that movie." Sam shook his head.

"Here I was thinking we were bonding, and you were ogling hot boys on the sly the whole time," he said, hanging his head in mock-disappointment.

"We did bond," Mercedes defended. "We shared our love for the movie. You loved the action. I loved the boys." Sam couldn't believe her.

"Thor?" Sam tried, clearly not ready to let it go. Mercedes rolled her eyes with a laugh.

"Chris Hemsworth. Tom Hiddleston. Idris Elba," Mercedes said with a giggle.

"Is there any sci-fi movie we went to that you didn't _just_ attend for the hot male leads?" Sam asked, poking her side. She laughed and held on to his hand.

"Of course there was," Mercedes said. Sam shook his head again as she lay there for a minute, seriously thinking about the question. Entire minutes later, she supplied, "Avatar?"

"That doesn't count and you know it," Sam argued with a laugh. "The male lead was a CGI mutant!"

"He was still a male that I wasn't checking for and I watched the movie with you—many, _many_ times," Mercedes said. "Many, many, many times," she added for good measure. "About six hundred many times more than was strictly necessary, which should speak volumes about my love for you."

Sam was about to argue some more when Cameron burst in again, derailing his thoughts, and addressing his mom this time.

"Knock knock!" Cameron's smile was blinding as he waited for Mercedes to comply.

Mercedes looked up to Sam with a giggle before turning back to their son.

"Who's there, Cam?" she asked, smiling at the eager boy.

"Me," Cameron replied, again, already giggling ahead of time.

"Me, who?" Mercedes asked, huffing out an amused laugh.

"No, really. It's just me and I'm tellin' a knock knock joke!" Cameron exclaimed.

Mercedes brought her palm to her forehead as Cameron fell apart again, clearly tickled with his own humor. He let out a high pitched sigh as he finally calmed down, then ran out of the room again. His parents watched him leave, shaking their heads.

Cameron's teacher hadn't known what she'd done when she'd decided that month was 'Knock Knock Joke' month. Cameron had immediately been on board and stockpiled every new one he learned throughout the week to share with his parents as he randomly thought of them at home. That afternoon, the last day of the month, the teacher had given them a book full of the jokes and Cameron had clearly decided that night was the night to unleash them all.

"I need to teach him some impressions," Sam said after a moment. "He's never gonna get a girl with those."

Mercedes' laughter stopped abruptly, and she shot her husband a glare. "_Good_."

"Maybe, I could teach him James Earl Jones," Sam went on, not noticing Mercedes' change in demeanor. Mercedes started laughing again at that, however. It'd be a long, long time before their baby boy's vocal chords could even try to approach James Earl Jones.

"Cause _that_ always gets the ladies going," Mercedes teased. "The sultry tones of James Earl Jones," Mercedes added to herself and then promptly fell out laughing. Sam huffed out a laugh at his silly wife.

"It got you," Sam defended.

"Got me _laughing at you_," Mercedes retorted. "I still can't believe you busted that out our first time," she said with a loud bark of laughter. There were tears in her eyes and her hand periodically smacked Sam in the stomach as she laughed, making only the faintest sounds as her giggles overwhelmed her.

Sam's eyes widened and he blushed scarlet. "It was _one_ time. In high school. I was nervous," he defended. "You promised never to talk about it again." He glared at her, about to say something more, when Cameron once again burst into the room.

They both turned to him again, curious what he'd say this time. He was on a roll.

"Knock knock, mommy!" he said, his smile the widest it'd been all night. He leaned on the bed in front of her and put his smiling face really close to hers as he waited for her to reply.

"Who's there, baby?" Mercedes said, still not completely quieted from laughing at Sam. She giggled a bit and put her hand in front of her mouth to silence herself.

"Oink oink!" Cameron said immediately.

"Oink oink who?" Mercedes asked, blowing out a breath to calm herself.

"Make up your mind! Are you a pig or an owl?!" Mercedes giggled quietly and rolled her eyes good-naturedly while Sam shook his head. This time, Cameron recovered quickly and started all over again a second later.

"Knock knock, daddy!" he asked, looking up at Sam.

"Who's there?" Sam asked.

"Boo," Cameron said, jumping up.

"Boo who?" Sam asked, laughing because he already knew where this was headed.

"Stop crying, you little baby!" Cameron said and dropped his head onto the bed next to Sam's leg as he laughed. Once he'd recovered from the force of his humor, he ran out of their room again, surely headed to his Knock Knock book again to memorize more gems.

It was quiet in the moments after Cameron left their room, except for the sounds of the movie they'd missed an entire section of. Sam thought Mercedes' attention had been drawn back in, as she'd stayed quiet so long, but she abruptly turned to him, affecting a deep voice and told him, "Today will be a day long remembered, 'Cede. I will introduce you to the power of the dark side," Mercedes said and then she was a mess of laughter and tears once again.

Sam gasped and blushed deeper than he ever had before. "You said you didn't...why? We're not going to talk about that again, alright? I was nervous!"

"The force is strong—," Mercedes continued like she hadn't heard him.

"Mercedes!" Sam said, finally breaking down and chuckling in embarrassment. He reached out his hands to tickle her.

"And you kept saying, 'as you wish'," Mercedes said with a cackle, twisting her body all over to get away from Sam's wiggling fingers.

"Stop!" Sam pleaded, still blushing. She was about to speak again, but he stopped her the only way he knew how. He gathered her in his arms and brought her giggling face in for a kiss, keeping her mouth too busy to say any more. She was still giggling by the time he let her go again, but she kept quiet, simply laying back on him.

"Knock knock!" Cameron said, bursting into the room one more time.

Both of his parents simply laughed as he bounded up to them. "Who's there?" they said in unison.

"Maida," Cameron replied, already laughing.

"Maida who?" Sam asked.

"Maida force be with you," Cameron answered before falling into hysterics.

Mercedes lost it, throwing her head back while Sam abruptly got up off the bed, leaving her there to fall out all by her lonesome.

"Okay, little man. It's time for bed," he said abruptly, picking Cameron up off the floor and carting him down the hall to his room. Cameron's giggles melded with his mother's and followed Sam the entire way there.

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><p><strong>AN: LOL poor Sam. It was just that one time, but he'll never live it down. And Cameron—was I the only kid who went through this phase? I would bug my parents for hours with the DUMBEST knock knock jokes and I thought I was on that Dave Chappelle status with it. Just me? Lol. Okay. I hope y'all like it! Please review! :)**


	44. Playing Nice (Small Bump)

Sam quirked his lips sympathetically as he walked into his bedroom. The lights were dimmed to a barely there glow, but he could just make out Mercedes' figure lying on their bed, holding on to her pregnant belly. She whimpered quietly as she moved around for what was probably the millionth time and tried to get comfortable. He walked slowly toward the bed, gently reaching out a hand to smooth over her hair when he got close enough. She looked up at him, offering him a tired smile, as he sat down next to her.

He was upset to see the tear tracks marring her face when she looked at him. Like a reflex, wanting to sooth her hurt, his hand found her cheek and caressed the tear-stained skin there, before letting his hand drop to her bare leg and continuing his caress.

With just a couple of weeks left of her final trimester, he'd become a bit of a helpless voyeur while she struggled. He'd watched her, adoring her strength, as she powered through every day—the painful pressures on her body increasing every minute her due date drew closer.

Today had been particularly difficult. She'd been experiencing some sharp pains in her back and had found it nearly impossible to alleviate them. She wasn't comfortable standing or sitting and, after a day spent trying to stand, lean on, and sit on every available surface, she'd finally given up and tried to take a nap.

By the looks of things, even that hadn't worked out so well. Sam couldn't help his guilt at his utter uselessness—a feeling he'd felt increasingly throughout her pregnancy. He wished he could do something more to help her. Moving a bit closer to her, he gently gathered her into his arms as best he could. In this position, Mercedes leaned forward and rested her forehead against his collarbone, sighing as Sam brought his hands around and smoothed them down her back—pushing with slightly more pressure on her lower back where he knew it was most painful for her.

"He won't stop kicking me," Mercedes said with a small laugh, although he knew it wasn't exactly funny for her. He smiled lightly and wrapped his arms a little tighter around her. "He keeps kicking my ribs. It hurts like hell."

"Anything I can do?" Sam asked, pressing a kiss into her hair, never stopping his soothing motions along her back. He was legitimately at a loss—something he simply _hated_ about her pregnancy. He wasn't used to not knowing what to do for her. Even when they'd first started dating and everything was a learning process, he'd never been as lost as he was now.

He'd spent years at study and practice, till he was an expert on his favorite subject. He knew a million ways to make her smile when she was sad or upset; he knew just how to turn on the romance and charm to turn her to putty in his arms; he knew how to take care of her when she was sick; he knew all the ways she liked to be held, kissed and touched; he knew all the special spots, the different looks, the different smiles; he knew all the words.

But, he didn't know exactly what to do when their unborn son wouldn't stop kicking her in the ribs or pressing his head against her bladder. He didn't know what to do when she felt like his little body was taking up all the room inside of her. He didn't know what to do when her rapidly shifting hormones drove her insane and tested every bit of her strength to the point where she fretted and cried about every little thing. He didn't know, and after these years with her—_learning her_—having no clue like he did now was simply unacceptable to him.

He'd tried everything he could think of that day. He'd given her back rubs, foot rubs, and shoulder rubs. He'd given her cuddles and kisses. He'd been more than ready and willing for some lovin', but she'd felt too bloated and uncomfortable for it. In short, nothing had worked and killed him just to watch her this way.

"You could maybe ask him real nice to stop kicking me," Mercedes joked, sitting up to look at him. Her smile was there, but he could see the tired creases around her eyes and lifted a finger to trail the skin there. "I don't mean to cry," she explained, misunderstanding his action. "I'm just exhausted."

He shushed her, trailing his finger across her lips before letting his hand drop to her belly. He brought the other one from her back to join it and used them both to rub circles around her bump. Shooting her a small, crooked smile, he turned his attention to her belly, giving it a gentle kiss before he spoke. "Cameron, it's your dad," he said quietly. Mercedes' soft giggles filled the room at that. "Your momma and I love you, buddy. We really do. We can't wait to meet you. I was wondering if you could do me a favor, though. You think you could stop kicking her? She'd really love some sleep and you're hurtin' her and makin' her cry—and that just breaks my heart, little man."

"You're crazy," Mercedes said, running her hand through his hair.

"Is it workin'?" Sam asked looking up at her.

"He hasn't kicked me since you started talking, so, I guess," Mercedes said with another laugh.

"Just this one favor, dude," Sam pleaded with Mercedes' bump. "I'll give you lots of extra cuddles and kisses when you finally get here. I'll teach you lots of cool stuff and carry you everywhere. I'll keep you safe. I'll let you sleep on my chest and I'll sing to you—," Sam said, but stopped when he heard Mercedes sniffle above him.

Tears were streaming down her eyes again, but at least she was smiling through these ones. "I got you, didn't I?" he asked with a teasing smile, batting his eyelids at her playfully. Score one for the wooing words! They never failed him.

"You suck," she told him with a laugh, even as she threw her arms around him and hugged him. "You know my hormones are just—why would you do that?"

Sam laughed. "Because I love you," he said.

"_Sam_," Mercedes whined, and then just sighed against him in defeat. What would be the point?

"I was just asking him nice," Sam defended. "I gave myself an idea, though."

"What?" Mercedes said, not bothering to lift her head. She rubbed her belly as Cameron kicked her again. "This kid is going to be some kind of soccer star," she joked and Sam chuckled.

He pulled back, making to leave the bed and Mercedes groaned. "You're comfortable," she said pouting a bit.

"I'll be right back," he promised. "I just want to try something."

Mercedes nodded, still pouting, and watched him putter around their bedroom. She quirked her head in askance when he returned, carting his laptop, a microphone, his guitar, and a myriad of other contraptions. She only observed saying nothing as he moved about to set things up and laughed outright when he stretched a pair of over the ear headphones over her belly as far as he could get them. When he sat down in front of the microphone with his guitar in hand, she only smiled and shook her head.

"I don't think he's too young for a lullaby," Sam decided. "You could use one, too," he told her. It wasn't much, but it was what he had and it was worth a shot. He gave her a wide grin and told her to lay back. She willingly obliged and fixed herself comfortably against the pillows, her smile growing wider as Sam started to play and sing, fixing her with a smile and an intense stare.

_You're just a small bump unborn, in four months you're brought to life,_  
><em>You might be left with my hair, but you'll have your mother's eyes,<em>  
><em>I'll hold your body in my hands, be as gentle as I can, but for now your scan of my unmade plans,<em>  
><em>A small bump in four months, you're brought to life<em>

He watched her fixedly as he sang—running her hands over her bump, looking back at him. It was only a moment until he saw her eyes filling with tears and he grinned, shaking his head as he continued his song.

_You are my one and only._  
><em>You can wrap your fingers round my thumb and hold me tight.<em>  
><em>Oh, you are my one and only.<em>  
><em>You can wrap your fingers round my thumb and hold me tight.<em>  
><em>And you'll be alright.<em>

It was a small, personal triumph as he watched her eyelids begin to droop. The motion of her hands over her belly slowed and he kept right on singing, hoping she'd follow the sound of his lullaby right into her dreams. She deserved it.

_You can lie with me,_  
><em>With your tiny feet<em>  
><em>When you're half asleep,<em>  
><em>I'll leave you be.<em>  
><em>Right in front of me<em>  
><em>For a couple weeks<em>  
><em>So I can keep you safe<em>

Smiling as Mercedes' eyes fell closed completely, the motion of her hands stopping completely, her breaths evening out, Sam switched his focus to her belly which softly rose and fell. He willed his son to remember their discussion and hoped the sound of his voice had lulled him into sweet baby dreams as well.

He couldn't help the soft smile that spread across his face when he'd finished his song. He sat for a few moments watching Mercedes sleep peacefully for the first time all day. Maybe he didn't know exactly what to do for her all the time, but he'd never stop trying. Sam figured that was the most important thing.

With another smile, he got up from the bed, offering a small kiss to his little man, thanking him for listening, before he pressed a gentle kiss to Mercedes' lips—thanking her for being his everything.

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><p><strong>AN: This is what happens when I spend a day listening to Ed Sheeran. I just gave myself all the feels and had to share. I've also come to the conclusion that if my husband won't be like ****_my_**** Sam Evans, I just don't want one. I need a man like this. I'm sorry if this doesn't do it for you, lol. This one'll just be for me then. I hope y'all did enjoy it, though. Please review! **

**The song Sam sings is called, "Small Bump" by Ed Sheeran. I was also listening to Lego House on repeat throughout, though. I just recommend everything by Ed Sheeran, though. I'll have both streaming from my tumblr for people to check out. :)**

**NOTE: Sam leaves out the last verse of Small Bump, for obvious reasons. That song made me cry so hard. Lawd.**


	45. Christmas Spirit

"Cameron, hold still," Sam pleaded from his position, sprawled on his stomach on living room the floor. He chanced a glance up at his son, who was dancing along to a song that was clearly doing it for him. Cameron rocked and swayed, his eyes closed—and the Christmas tree he was supposed to be holding still as his dad tried to fasten it into the stand rocked and swayed along with his every move.

He took no notice of his dad's distress as he added some singing into the mix, rolling his body toward the tree as the song hit a particularly sweet spot. Cameron's smooth voice was usually a pleasure to hear—a sweet and soulful inheritance from his parents, but right then, Sam glared at him as the tree continued to slip and slide out of place.

Lilliana played in the space next to them, taking the Christmas stockings out of the box of decorations near them. She lay on her back, her feet stuck straight up into the air above her, and pulled the stockings onto her little feet. The five-year old giggled in amusement as the over-sized garments covered her limbs up to the knee. She looked toward her parents, dropping her feet onto Sam's back to show Mercedes what she'd done, and then dissolved into giggles again.

"_Baby, it's you!_" Cameron sang out above her, eyes still closed and the movement of his hips incessant, apparently declaring an unparalleled love for the Christmas tree he held in his hands. "_You're the one I love!_"

Sam sent an incredulous look toward his wife, who was struggling to hold up the tree along with their dancing son. Mercedes let out an amused giggle at the look on Sam's face and shook her head. Clearly this year's family decorating session would fare no better than it had on any other year.

_Mercedes remembered the year before. Everything had actually been going smoothly—the tree had been fastened, Cameron waiting until after his dad was done to turn into a dancing fool. The lights and decorations had been hung, Lilliana squealing with delight as Sam lifted her onto his shoulders so she could fix the star to the top of the tree._

_It wasn't until well after that things had gone south. Mercedes and Sam had been lying on the couch in front of the tree together, enjoying the soft glow of the lights—Cameron puttering on his cellphone in the love seat nearby. They'd all stopped as Lilliana dragged her toy chest into the middle of the living room._

_Mercedes had been prepared to shrug it off, thinking Lilly just wanted to play near her family—but the four-year old had other ideas. She opened the top of the chest and started to unload her favorite toys—right onto the Christmas tree._

_Barbie lounged in her swimsuit in a bed of gold garland. The Flower Power Light Show that followed drowned out the warm white lights of the tree. Dora the Explorer perched atop an over-sized purple glitter ornament, making the branch it rested on droop precariously. Tickle-Me-Elmo jittered right next to the ornate nativity scene below. Jolly Giraffe, the pillow pet, was about to find a new place to sleep, right above a gorgeous beaded snowflake._

_Mercedes' jaw rested on the floor, eyes wide as she watched her daughter add her own flair to the tree that had taken her hours to get just right. She'd simply whimpered as a sparkling lavender ball crashed onto the ground under Jolly Giraffe's weight._

_Cameron had immediately fallen apart at the sight, and flailed uselessly as he laughed. He'd gathered himself only to snap pictures of the destruction, then had promptly lost it again after he'd Instagramed his amusement for all his friends (and the world) to see._

_It'd ultimately been up to Sam to do some damage control._

_"Lilly Bean," he'd started, knowing he'd have to ease her into this news. "Your toys can't go on the tree, baby," he said, getting up and taking down Jolly Giraffe. Lilliana's immediate pout threatened to destroy him._

_"Why?" she asked, poking out her bottom lip. Her eyes drooped to perfection. Puss in Boots had nothing on his little girl and Sam took a deep breath as he removed Barbie from her bed of garland. "Mommy put on her toys," Lilliana said pointing to a golden dove._

_"Those are different," Sam tried to explain. "They're ornaments."_

_"Orramets?" Lilliana repeated, scrunching up her face in confusion._

_"Ornaments," Sam said again. "They all have to do with Christmas—like the snowman and the elves and Santa," Sam said pointing at each ornament._

_"But I got all these stuffs for Christmas!" Lilliana complained as she held up Jolly Giraffe again—a gift she'd indeed gotten for Christmas the year before._

_"Yes," Sam explained. "But we don't put our Christmas gifts on the tree, baby," Sam said, pulling Dora the Explorer down. They both watched as the branch snapped back into place. The ball that'd been hanging from it crashed onto the floor, not breaking, but rolling toward Mercedes' feet. Mercedes made a strangled sound as she picked it up._

_Lilliana had pouted as she plucked the Flower Power Light Show down, dropping it back into her toy chest, before she grabbed Elmo. Sam had watched in dismay as she trudged her way back down the hall, her toy chest in tow._

_It'd taken the promise of a trip to the ice cream parlor to bring the smile back to her face, and she'd left with her father immediately, perched on his shoulder, happily chattering about all the toppings she'd consume. Cameron walked out behind them, not waiting on an invite—because ice cream. Mercedes took the opportunity to perfect the tree again._

_It wasn't one bit surprising when Sam walked back into the house, a couple of hours later, a small pine tree perched on his shoulder. He smiled sheepishly at his wife as he set the little tree down next to the bigger one, while Lilliana walked in behind him holding a small bag of ornaments and simply beamed at him._

_Mercedes didn't need to ask what happened. "You got her her own tree," she stated and Sam simply walked over with a sheepish smile and hung his head on her shoulder._

_"She pouted at me," he defended. "You know what it does to me." Mercedes simply giggled and patted the back of his head before going off to help Lilly decorate her little tree. It wasn't long before Barbie found her way back to her bed of garland while Tickle Me Elmo danced below._

_Mercedes and Sam had stayed up long after the kids had gone to bed, giggling as the Flower Power Light Show lit up the living room from its perch atop Lilly's tree, shining brighter than any star. It'd been Sam's suggestion to turn on the stereo and start dancing in the lights, and that had shortly dissolved into fits of laughter that had ultimately woken up both kids. Mercedes still had trouble containing her laughter when she remembered the confused look on their faces, while she and Sam just laughed._

With parents like the two of them, they couldn't even blame their children for being a little crazy—which they clearly were. Lilliana went on laughing as she lifted her stocking covered feet into the air again and Cameron had moved on to a new song, his hips still going. "_The time is now, no time to waist. Turn up the love. Turn down the hate_," Cameron sang, eyes still closed.

Sam shook his head as Mercedes continued to laugh. A moment later, he smacked the teenager in the leg, finally putting an end to the one man show. "Hold still!"

Cameron gasped as the contact pulled him out of the reverie he'd clearly been involved in, and turned an incommoded pout toward his father. "The song was almost done," he muttered grumpily, looking down at Sam. "And someone clearly wasn't listening to the lyrics. Turn _up_ the love," Cameron moped. Sam's only response was a long blank stare and Cameron shook his head. "The violence, this one," he told his giggling mother, looking for sympathy. "Such a Grinch," he said, and then preemptively shifted his legs further away from Sam's reach. He held still, however.

Sam was ready to breathe a sigh of relief as Cameron finally resolved to hold the tree still, but it was short-lived. Just as he turned his attention back to the task at hand, he was choked by a swatch of red tinsel, pulled tightly around his neck. Lilly, who'd taken up a prime sitting spot on his back, kicked her Christmas stocking covered feet at her dad's sides and pulled on the tinsel she'd just thrown around his neck.

"On Rudolph!" she squealed in delight before dissolving into giggles and Sam sighed, hanging his head. Lilliana kicked her feet at his sides again as Sam just laid there. She pouted, clearly inconvenienced by his lack of participation. "You said we could play Santa's Sleigh! I'm Santa! You're Rudolph, daddy!" Lilly whined, pulling on the tinsel rein again.

"Lil, I need a second, baby," he pleaded. "Kinda busy here."

Lilliana let out a real diva sigh and let go of her "reins". She turned onto her back, stretching out against Sam's back and sticking her feet up into the air again. She pulled on the reindeer ears on the top of one of her stockings. "I'll be here when you're ready," she informed him.

Sam shook his head with a laugh and finally set himself to the task of fastening the tree. He worked quickly as Cameron's toes had already started tapping to a new song in the idle time.

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><p><strong>AN: Some LW Christmas lol and the return of Lilliana because I missed my girl. Cam was feelin' sassy and singing some Beyonce and Christina. He_ is_ his mother's son after all. Also, you should check out the video for the Flower Power Light Show toy on YouTube, cause the idea of Mercedes and Sam being goofballs to that and waking up their kids with it cracks me up. I mean, it's synchronized. It has Sam written all over it. Anyway, I hope people enjoy! Please review! :)**


	46. Growin' Up

"Are you gonna smile, Lil?"

Sam looked at his daughter with a smirk, chuckling when she tucked her lips in, looked straight at him, and shook her head. The tufts of curly hair at the sides of her head shook with the action. He snapped a picture of her just like that.

She'd lost a tooth earlier that day—that last little front chomper that'd been hanging on for dear life finally losing its battle to a lunchtime peanut butter sandwich. She'd been laughing as she chewed—tickled as Sam created voices for _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_, acting out the story as he read it with her.

Every second he'd spent going over the chapters the night before with Mercedes, to make sure he got the words right, were worth it as he watched his daughter smile. He lived for that smile. It'd belonged to her mother before her, and he'd been every bit as enamored with it then, too.

Lilliana had suddenly gone silent, her eyes popping wide, and Sam had watched her spit her food onto the plate in front of her. Seconds later, he'd been running after her as she dashed through the house and into the bathroom to check out her new gummy smile. Sam thought she looked absolutely adorable, but Lilliana had thought different.

She'd smiled hesitantly at the mirror in the bathroom, then had turned to him with a horrified look and hung her head in shame. "_Th_i_th _i_th th_o embarra_th_ing," she'd bemoaned dramatically into her hands, before burying her face against his leg. Sam had only chuckled and bent to pick her up. Lilly had wasted no time hiding her face against his neck and Sam had carried her out into the living room where his phone was so he could call Mercedes and let her know. She and Cameron had gone out shopping together and he knew she'd be as excited about this as he was. They had a whole tooth fairy routine to go through that night.

He'd figured Lilly would get over it soon enough, but when the minutes ticked by and his usually bubbly girl sat subdued, running her tongue over the newly vacated spot on her gums, Sam thought it was time for an intervention. He'd proposed a trip to the park-hoping that some space to run around and a visit to the ice cream cart there would bring her smile back.

She was a picture now in her pink ruffled dress, an outfit she'd worn for her ballet recital just last week, and had been too in love with to put away. Sam had caused a right scene—while Mercedes and Cameron cringed—as he cheered for his baby girl, making noise like he was a One Direction fangirl and Lilliana was Zayn.

She'd been so cute with her ruffles, tutu, and ballet slippers "balleting" all over the stage, and it'd clearly overwhelmed her proud daddy. "You go, baby girl!" he'd screamed over the soft music—as if it hadn't been bad _enough_ that he was _standing_ and blocking the view for the entire row behind him.

His antics had turned more than a few heads toward him, but Sam had been oblivious as he watched his little girl, aiming his camera right at her so he wouldn't miss a second. "Oh my God, Mercedes, _look_!" he'd insisted, though Mercedes clearly _had_ been looking. "Baby, do you see her?" Mercedes had only been able to shake her head and laugh as Sam literally flailed.

Today, however, she'd paired her ruffled dress with a pair of pink Wellington's and a yellow parasol, though the perfect Los Angeles weather called for neither. It was what she wanted to wear and Sam wasn't going to argue with it.

He was _far_ too busy trying to coax the smile he loved out of her at the moment.

"Not even a little one—for me?" he asked, making a pathetic puppy dog face at her.

Lilliana's lips twitched as she looked at him, but she was resolute and shook her head again. She'd been fine with losing all of her other teeth, but it was something about parting with this final front tooth that upset her. "I'm never _th_miling again," she informed him.

"_Really_?" Sam asked, his features rearranged into a crestfallen pout. "Daddy's going to be very sad if _that's_ true. His heart's going to break and he might never smile again, either," Sam told her seriously. "Do you want Daddy to be sad _forever_?" Sam asked dramatically.

Lilliana suddenly looked gloomy at the prospect and shook her head again. "No," she said immediately, moving toward him for a hug. Sam scooped her up as soon as she was close enough and smiled as she buried her face into his neck again.

He carried her over to a spot in the grass and sat with her in his lap. Once there, he pulled a photo album out of the bag he'd taken with him to the park and Lilliana stared at it curiously.

"Whath that?" she asked, looking down at it before looking up at her father.

"I wanted to show you something," Sam said smiling at her. He flipped to a page and chuckled as Lilliana covered her mouth with her hand to giggle.

"You looked like me, daddy," she said. The hand she'd been using to cover her mouth, she now used to point a finger at Sam's toothless smile in the picture. In it, he stood out in front of his childhood home. Both eyes were closed tightly, his smile exaggerated as he proudly showed off his gummy grin.

"I did and I was proud," he told her. "You know why?"

She looked back to him then and shook her head.

"I was proud because it just meant I was growing up. I was turning into a big boy, just like you're turning into a big girl now," he told her. She looked at him thoughtfully. "Remember when we talked about how your body grows with momma?" he asked her and she nodded.

"Your body get_th_ bigger," she told him. "And you grow taller," she continued, remembering when Mercedes had spoken to her, right before they started the tradition of measuring her height every year against a wall in the kitchen.

"Right," Sam told her. "Well, your teeth can't get any bigger, sweetheart. They're just little when you're little and then your big ones grow in for when you're bigger. It's a sign that you're growing up."

He flipped to another page in the album, toward the back. Lilly smiled at the picture of herself, swaddled in a blanket when she was just a baby. "That's how you used to be," Sam told her. "Momma and I had to do everything for you because you were so tiny. We had to feed you and carry you everywhere and change your smelly diapers," he told her. She looked back at him, but still tucked her lips over her smile.

"But now you're not a baby anymore," he said flipping to a new page. On that page, a few pictures showed Lilliana running through the house with angel wings pinned onto her back—pretending to be a fairy, laughing hysterically and using Sam's shirt collar as reins as he gave her a horseback ride through the kitchen, pulling on the ends of her curls and making a silly face, helping Mercedes bake a cake for school, and using Cameron's back as a mattress when she'd fallen asleep there watching him play videogames.

"You can eat whatever you want and you can feed yourself, you can dress yourself, you can walk, you can run, you can go potty—so no more smelly diapers!" He said the last part loudly and Lilliana giggled again. Her gums only showed for a second before she remembered herself and covered her mouth.

"You didn't used to be able to do all those things," Sam added. "But you're getting bigger now and when you're even bigger, you're gonna learn to do a lot more things like your momma does."

At this Lilliana perked up, regarding her dad again with a thoughtful gaze. "I can wear makeup?" she asked, seriously.

Sam groaned internally, not even wanting to think of when that time came, but nodded.

"I can wear heel_th_?" she asked, and Sam felt like this was a trap. _Hell to the no_.

"Well, not for a while…but, eventually, maybe, when you're like 30," he answered.

"I can wear pretty dre_th_e_th_?" she asked, excited now. This growing up thing wasn't sounding so bad after all.

"I don't see why not," Sam answered. "As long as they're a proper length and cover everything that needs covering," he added. He cut himself off there before he started rambling. With luck, this conversation wouldn't need having for a long while.

"But, you can't grow up if your body stays the same," he told her, getting back to the topic at hand. "Your body has to get bigger and taller—and your baby teeth have to come out and make room for your big girl teeth. That's how it goes."

Lilliana was silent for a long time as she thought about her father's words. Sam was content just to hold her as they sat, flipping through the pictures in the album. She giggled as Sam showed her pictures of a toothless Mercedes, smiling proudly as she sat totally naked in a kiddie pool.

"Momma growed up, too," Lilly observed and Sam nodded with a small smile. She grew up into the amazing woman he'd fallen in love with and his little girl couldn't have had better luck to have her as a momma. He had no doubt she'd be equally as amazing.

"What if I look goofy?" Lilliana asked finally and Sam didn't hesitate with his answer.

"You could never. You're the cutest little girl in the world," he told her.

Sam couldn't help his smile when Lilliana beamed, her gummy grin lighting up her face, before she threw her arms around his neck.

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><p><strong>AN: This started out as a picture drabble then got too long. So I'm posing it here. I hope y'all like. amuzed1 did this by uploading 'Your Joy' by Chrisette Michele...and then the picture pushed it into overdrive. I will put the picture on my tumblr (same name as here if you're interested lol). Anyway. I hope y'all enjoy and please review! :)**


	47. Christmas Wonders

This was wrong—dangerous even. His mother would kill him if she caught him. Cameron knew, but this was important. He was on a mission that could not be stopped. Wrong as it was, he just _had_ to know. What lovely treasures awaited him this Christmas?

"If I were a Christmas present," he mumbled to himself as he stepped into his parents' bedroom, "where would I hide?" His eyes roamed the space intently, looking around as if the hiding spot would present itself. To his dismay, it didn't, but he wouldn't lose hope just yet. He'd already spent the better part of two hours searching the entire house. Their bedroom would be the last. His gifts had to be somewhere here.

This was bad. He knew that, too, but he couldn't help himself. He'd always been a bit impatient and this had become a tradition for him since the year he stumbled upon his dad's Santa suit in the closet. His memories had flashed before him in that moment—all those Christmas Eves he'd snuck out of bed in the wee hours at the sound of sleigh bells and heavy boots clomping around the house. It'd been his dad all along.

One minute he'd been looking for batteries for his Wii controller, the next he'd had to come to terms with the fact that his childhood memories had all been based on a lie. He'd been heartbroken—or at least that's what he told his parents, smiling on the inside as they took him out for ice cream to allay his hurt. It had been a blow to find out jolly old Santa wasn't real, but he'd live. The ice cream didn't hurt, though.

It was during that outing that Sam had made the mistake of telling him all about how they went through the trouble of going out and buying him the things they knew he'd love, and then spent the days before wrapping them up for him.

Pretending to be Santa had just been a way to make it the truly magical experience he deserved. Sam was truly sorry the gig was up. All Cameron had heard was that the Christmas presents were in the house well before Christmas morning. Thus, a new Christmas tradition had been born—albeit a terrible one, but he couldn't help himself. He'd never been good with surprises. He had to know!

His parents had managed to best him for years in a game they didn't even know they were playing. He'd yet to find a gift before Christmas day, but he had a feeling. This year would be his year. He'd be like the Grinch—he wouldn't steal, he'd just get a sneak peek. _No big deal_, he rationalized.

He crept further into the room, nearly jumping out of his skin when his mom's iPad chimed on the bed where she'd left it. The screen lit up like a watchful eye. He could practically hear her scolding voice in his head and Cameron stood rooted to his spot, eyes wide with alarm, until it went black again.

They were definitely gone—he'd made sure of it, even waving them off as they left for some last minute shopping a few hours ago and to drop Lilly off with Tina for their annual Christmas Eve brunch—but his current occupation put him on an obvious edge.

Cameron took a breath, glaring at the offending object, before setting back to his task. They'd be back soon, but this wouldn't take all that long. All he had to do was find his Christmas presents, freak out at the sight of them—because his parents always treated him right, and then he could go back to his room and work on his surprised face just in time for Christmas the next morning. The plan was perfect and Cameron smiled to himself as he put it into action.

He walked with glorious purpose into their walk-in closet, looking around at the world of clothes and shoes that lounged within. His dad's stuff mixed in with his mom's in the way they tended to do after twenty-plus years together. Sam's old t-shirts and sweaters weaved in with Mercedes' favorite sleep things. Their every day shoes mixed and mingled, lining the carpeted walkway at random intervals. Sam's jeans spilled out of the hamper, taking Mercedes' bra along for the ride and Cameron knew his dad would most likely hear some nagging about that soon enough. Momma wasn't here for mess.

Cameron chuckled to himself at the thought, but his eyes astutely stayed on his task, roving around the space. A small smile crept onto his face, growing wider as he noticed a large stack of boxes in the corner. He noticed Barbies and dress shop logos, and smiled knowing Lilliana was going to be a very happy four-year old. Too easy, he thought with a shake of his head. They didn't even make him try. It was _definitely_ his year. He was sure of it.

He was on it in a moment, grabbing the top box and settling onto the floor. His smile said, 'jackpot,' as he pulled open the box and found a bounded book with his name printed in nice golden letters on the leather jacket. Right above his name was a cute graphic of a Christmas tree. He ran his fingers over it gently before eagerly flipping the book open.

He was surprised, touched really, at the picture that greeted him on the very first page. It was a picture of his mom, clearly sporting a baby bump in what looked like her family's home in Ohio. She sat on the floor in a sea of unopened Christmas presents, smiling brightly at the camera. Sam sat behind her, his hands laid over her prominent baby bump, as he smiled up to the camera, too. Mercedes' hands rested over his. On her shirt was a cute graphic of a present. Under that, it read, "Our Christmas gift came early this year." An arrow pointed to her baby bump from there. 'Your first Christmas.' the caption read, and Cameron couldn't help the smile that quirked his lips. They looked so happy it warmed his heart.

He gently flipped to the next page where a picture of himself as a tiny baby, cradled in his mother's arms, greeted him. They were obviously going for the tears this Christmas. He poked out his bottom lip at how adorable this all was, completely overwhelmed they'd done this for him.

In the shot, his dad leaned in next to them, holding Cameron's hand. Their Christmas tree stood prominent in the background. Cameron was clearly asleep, fingers wrapped tightly around Sam's thumb, but looked adorable in his Santa Claus footed onsie. The outfit was completed with a small Santa hat. Both of his parents smiled down, clearly enamored, not even bothering to look up at the camera. 'Okay, so this was technically the real first one. We got a bit carried away with the outfit, but you looked so cute,' the caption read and Cameron smiled lightly, too overcome to do much else.

At this rate he wouldn't even have time to raid the rest of the presents, but he didn't care. He couldn't put the book down. It was the best thing ever.

The next picture was the next year. He gleefully sat in a sea of wrapping paper while all of his opened presents sat neglected on the sidelines. He could see all sorts of colorful toys in the background. Sam sat nearby, desperately waving a teddy bear at him, but it was to no avail. Cameron wasn't even looking as he waved a treasured bow at the camera, the smile on his face a happy beam. 'There were twelve presents for you under the tree that day—you really sat there and played with the bow,' read the caption. This time, Cameron did laugh, shaking his head in shame. He clearly hadn't gotten it.

The next picture gave him all the feels and he cursed his parents at the sight of it, his heart squeezing in his chest. Little moments like this, even with his snooping reminded him how much he loved them. He was sat in Sam's arms as Sam stood in front of the Christmas tree. Sam's eyes were closed as he deposited a kiss to Cameron's cheek. Cameron smiled widely, one arm thrown around his dad's head while the other one clutched a stuffed Captain America doll—the first one his dad had ever given him, the one he still had and loved to death—to his chest. 'We got you one of those kiddie cars that year, but Captain America was clearly your fave. You gave him rides in the car, though,' the caption read. He really couldn't get over this album.

The Christmas themed attire was back in the next shot. Cameron looked at his three-year old self laid back in his mother's arms. They sat next to his dad in Sam's family home in Tennessee all sporting the same ugly Christmas sweater. Sam and Mercedes stared at the camera, their expressions screaming, "Are you kidding me?" Cameron lay back on his mother's chest, obliviously smiling as he ate the snickerdoodle clutched in his hand. 'Your aunt Stacey thought she was funny…' read the caption, making Cameron chuckle. His snickerdoodle had trumped any kind of feeling he had about the sweater. He remembered nothing but the cookie. He could probably have been wearing Lady Gaga's meat dress and it wouldn't have phased him as long as he had a snickerdoodle.

His teary four-year old face greeted him in the next shot and Cameron continued laughing at how pitiful he looked, wearing a lop-sided Santa hat and bawling. His face was bright red as the tears strolled down. His hands were thrown up in a gesture that clearly signaled he wanted to be picked up and comforted and Mercedes' arms could clearly be seen at the corner of the shot, about to do just that. 'Your uncle Kurt sent you a Santa balloon. You loved that balloon. You got a bit over-eager and it popped when you hugged it. You thought you killed Santa,' the caption read and Cameron was a goner. His laugh rang out loudly into the quiet space.

In his mirth, he didn't notice the sound of the monitor beeping to let him know the front gates of the house had been reopened. He flipped to the next page, wondering what memories awaited him next.

Immediately more chuckles rang out as he took in his and Tyler's passed out faces in the next shot. They shared a blanket on the couch, the five-year olds both wearing Santa hats as they slept. Tyler's head had fallen onto Cameron's shoulder and then Cameron's head had fallen to its resting spot on Tyler's head. The remnants of some chocolate confection marred the area around their mouths. 'We let you stay up watching The Polar Express on Christmas Eve while you waited for Santa. You had hot chocolate and about ten truffles a piece. It was trying times for a moment there. Y'all turned the living room upside down, but eventually the sugar shock wore off. Santa delivered his presents soon after this was taken.'

Cameron was still laughing and missed the sounds of the car doors closing as he turned to the next page. His frown was immediate as the memory rushed back.

His most hated Christmas showed on the page. Sam sat in a hospital bed, his face slightly swollen, but still smiling brightly as his teary-eyed family tried to smile for the camera. They'd gone out Christmas Eve dinner with Mercedes' label. Sam ordered a French onion soup, but someone incompetent had sent him over some clam chowder. Seeing as he was highly allergic to shellfish, it was only a matter of seconds after the first bite before his throat started to close up. "I can't breathe," Sam had wheezed with a panic chuckle to the table before all hell broke loose. He passed out. Paramedics were called. Cameron started crying. Mercedes started yelling. The family found themselves in the hospital through Christmas day. Cameron hadn't even opened any presents until two days after Christmas that year, when Sam had been discharged. It'd taken some prodding from his dad, promising he was fine, before Cameron settled enough to care about his gifts. 'Terrifying, but we had each other, so that's all that really mattered in the end,' the caption read.

Cameron smiled lightly, about to turn the page when a pair of voices ascending the stairs startled him. He let the book slam shut on the next memory and looked toward the closet door in a panic.

"Why can't I see what you bought?" Sam whined as he climbed up the stairs after his wife. His hands rested on her hips as he followed her up.

"It's a _Christmas_ gift," Mercedes informed him, emphasizing Christmas. "Cameron, we're home," she called out, not knowing he was already very aware of the fact.

"It's Christmas Eve. Close enough," Sam countered reaching for the bag she was holding. Cameron could hear her bat his hands away. "I wanna see."

He would have laughed at the exchange if he hadn't been in a complete panic at the moment. If his mom caught him, he was done for. He quickly, _reluctantly_, gave up his perusal of the photo album, cursing that he hadn't found it sooner. He'd have to finish it the next day. Slipping it back into its box, he looked around for a hiding place in the closet. A quick glance told him there wasn't one and he knew his mom would come in here to remove her shoes and set down anything she'd bought. His best bet was making a run for the bedroom before they got in. Under the bed would provide the perfect cover until they went back downstairs, and then he could escape.

He'd just performed a ridiculous ninja roll across the tiled floors and hid himself under the bed skirts when he saw the door get pushed open. Their voices now rang from inside the room.

"Christmas Eve is not close enough. Christmas Eve is Christmas Eve. You just have to be patient. It's only until midnight, babe," Mercedes replied, heading straight for the closet. Sam on the other hand, sat on the bed and removed his shoes. Cameron could feel him move around, lying down against the pillows.

"Not fair," Sam complained. "You made me sit outside the store so all I could do for twenty tortuous minutes was fantasize about what you were getting and the million ways I could peel it off of you. Now I don't even get a sneak peek?"

Mercedes came back into the room laughing as she took up a spot next to Sam. "Here, you can look at this," she told him.

Cameron was mortified, looking around the space beneath the bed, trying to formulate an escape. How did he get here? Right. He'd been impatiently rifling through Christmas presents and now the good Lord was determined to make him see the error of his ways. He did see. Boy, was he sorry now. He tried to cover his ears, but their muffled banter still filled his ears.

"What is this?" Sam said with a smile as he looked into the plastic bag she'd tossed him. "This is deodorant, hair balm, and aftershave, baby," Sam said in a monotone. Cameron could almost picture the blank stare his dad was shooting his mom. He would have laughed if his life wasn't currently ending.

Mercedes' giggles sounded. "You're running out. I checked earlier. You're welcome." She kissed him on the cheek, giggling more when the need to argue his case warred with the need to be grateful.

"Thank you, but that's not exactly what—," Sam said and groaned when she cut him off.

"It's only a few more hours, Sam," Mercedes scolded. "The kids will be in bed and then we'll have our own Christmas before they run in here and suck us into the whirlwind. Have some patience."

Suddenly his dad's voice went to a low whisper and Cameron wanted to die. "But Lilly's out with Tina for lunch and they won't be back a while." Cameron heard the distinct wet snick of a kiss and started to bang his head against the floor.

"Cameron's home," Mercedes countered, but it was definitely breathy. Breathy wasn't good. _No, no, no._ Cameron shook his head hard. _NO!_

"We'll lock the door," Sam coaxed before another kiss. "He's probably playing video games with his headphones on. He didn't even hear us come in."

Cameron heard nothing but rustling, whispered sighs, and heavy breathing for a while. Silently from his personal hell under the bed, he addressed the good Lord. _Seriously! I sneak a preview of my Christmas gifts and I get this. Cruel and unusual, sir. Not cool._ He shook his head, nearly whimpering in pain, as the talking started up again above him.

"Let me see what you bought," Sam whispered.

"Not until tonight," Mercedes insisted.

"Just a peek," Sam replied, clearly having done something, because Mercedes let out breathy moan and called him name.

Anger clearly hadn't worked, so Cameron tried another tactic with the good Lord. _I'm sorry. God, am I sorry. I'm so so so so so so sorry! I'll never do it again. Just please make it stop. Dear Lord, PLEASE make it stop!_

"This is your peek," Mercedes informed him. "You're just wasting time." Immediately following that statement, something hit the floor and Cameron peered to see what it was. Seeing his dad's jeans had been haphazardly discarded on the floor, he made a decision and started to crawl his way out from under the bed. If they caught him, they caught him, but he wasn't about to stick around for the end. He'd actually die.

He nearly yelped when something hit his back as he made his way out. He looked back just in time to catch his dad's newly bared back as Sam leaned toward his mom. The two were so enthralled with each other that they noticed nothing of their son desperately crawling away from their bed, across the room, and out the door. Only when the door snicked shut behind him, did Mercedes lift her head toward the sound.

"Did you hear something?" she asked Sam, looking around the space. Her sight was hazy with lust and she struggled to focus.

"What?" Sam asked, not looking up from his task of divesting her of her blouse.

Satisfied the space was empty, Mercedes simply shook her head and smiled at him as he finally looked up at her. "Nothing," she whispered and Sam swallowed the word in his next kiss as he pushed her unbuttoned shirt open.

Cameron's Christmas tradition ended on that day.

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><p><strong>AN: A belated Merry Christmas to those who celebrate or Happy Holidays if you don't. Either way, I hope you enjoyed. Please review.**


	48. The Tub Time Chase

**A/N: I'm still home for the holidays and left my computer in FL. Editing and uploading from an iPod sucks lol. Posted this to my tumblr with a picture. I'm a bit obsessed with this little girl as a face claim for Lilliana. She's adorbs. Y'all should check out the pic if you can. I have the same username on tumblr, too. Anyway, onward.**

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><p>A squealing ball of giggles burst into Sam's office, effectively stealing his attention away from his work. He'd needed a break anyway, and his family always proved to be his favorite kind.<p>

He watched in amusement as his giddy two-year old ran to the flat white couch in the corner of the room. He'd never know what he was thinking with that purchase. Two kids later he'd resorted to throwing a plush brown blanket over it to cover up the assorted spots.

This blanket Lilliana chose as her hiding spot, lying down and throwing it over her little body. She apparently thought she was hidden—oblivious to the fact that a wiggling, giggling lump in the middle of the couch might be a dead giveaway.

He shook his head, letting out a slight chuckle as her movements continued. He was about to help her out when his wife's voice rang from down the hall.  
>"Lilliana! You're gonna get the tickling of your life when I find you, ma'am! Get back here." Mercedes' footsteps could be heard moving closer to them as she made her way through every room, searching for her daughter, calling out to her every few seconds.<p>

"You better stop moving so much or she'll _find_ you," Sam singsonged. Immediately, Lilly lifted the blanket off of her head to look at her dad. She lifted one small index finger to her smiling face, indicating she'd be quiet, before throwing the blanket back over herself and staying still.

The lump in the middle of the couch would still give her away, but Sam had tried. No one could say different.

"Did she come this way?" Mercedes asked in a whisper a minute later when she showed up in the doorway. Her eyes roved the room intently and Sam smirked. "That depends," he teased, and Mercedes' eyes snapped back to his with an amused curiosity.

"Was this a game or did she escape?" Sam asked. Lilliana, who'd no doubt heard her mother's voice by now, was doing a good job of keeping herself still in that moment, and Sam would never be accused of snitching out her hiding spot, but he knew how his daughter could get, particularly at any mention of bath time.

They _all_ knew—particularly Cameron, but Sam and Mercedes just figured _that_ was karma. They both remembered when the word 'tub' had been enough to send their son running. Apparently that ran in the family. Mercedes had once questioned where they got it from, and Sam stayed mum—though a certain locker room conversation back in junior year of high school, pertaining to the simple magic of lifting and scrubbing, _did_ run through his mind.

"What do _you_ think? I mentioned the word 'bath' and she took off," Mercedes informed him, setting back to looking around his office. "Cameron pointed me in this direction because she passed him in the living room," Mercedes explained, looking around.

Sam could tell when she saw it. Her eyes stopped over the couch, and she stalked forward slowly so her feet didn't make a sound. "I just don't know where she could be," Mercedes said loudly, holding back a laugh when Lilliana brought a hand up to cover her giggles, moving under the sheet.

"She's so good at hiding. I can't ever ever find her," Mercedes added taking another step closer. Lilliana giggled again and Sam shook his head. She'd get it one day, but for now he'd enjoy watching her try.

"Sam, I think I'm gonna try upstairs. She's not in here. I can't find her anywhere," Mercedes said, and then stomped her feet on the floor as if she were walking away.

It only took a few seconds. Lilliana threw the sheet off of her face, and then squealed when she came face to face with her mother. "Gotcha!" Mercedes yelled right before making good on her promise to tickle the life out of her two-year old.

Sam watched happily as his daughter let out an endless string of giggles, trying to push her mother's hands away. Mercedes finally let up when the giggles turned to silent tear-inducing laughter, lifting up her daughter and rubbing her back to allow her to calm down.

Lilliana was dead weight as she continued giggling against her mom for a few minutes and Mercedes shared a laugh with Sam at her antics. They remembered when Cameron had been this way. Stevie had bared the brunt of it with every babysitting excursion.

After a moment, Mercedes set Lilly down, but still held on tightly to her hand, preventing another chase. "Alright, you little troublemaker. Tub time. Now," Mercedes said, leaving no room to question that she was serious.

Lilliana promptly followed her out and Sam shook his head as he watched her go. He was just about to get back to his work when she popped back in again, a bright smile on her face, as Mercedes still held tightly to her hand. "Bye, daddy," she said with a little wave and then his little rabble-rouser was gone—at least until bedtime.

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><p><strong>AN: Lilliana is a little troublemaker. The worst kind, too, cause she's cute. I hope y'all enjoyed. Please review.**


	49. Breakfast In Bed

**A/N: I made a picture to accompany this on my tumblr. Check that out!**

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><p>"Cameron, don't."<p>

It was the fifth statement of its kind that Mercedes heard from Sam that morning. Whatever Cameron was doing, he'd been at it for the last half hour he'd spent in the kitchen with his dad, and showed no actual signs of stopping.

She could hear them from her bed upstairs—pots and pans banging, cabinets slamming, knives chopping rhythmically against what she hoped was a cutting board and not the counter—no doubt destroying the kitchen, and she dreaded the thought of what they were up to.

The way she felt, however, all she could do was pray for the best.

She was officially out of commission, having decided so when she'd woken up earlier that morning to the treacherous Red Sea intent on making her body its new abode. It also seemed intent on making the transition as painful as possible, if the cramps from hell currently tearing up her insides were anything to go by.  
>She hadn't slept a wink after that, tossing and turning in a vain attempt to get comfortable. Sam, who had a habit of using his wife as a body pillow, had of course noticed when the tossing and turning started, but had no way of helping her, short of sweetly rubbing her belly and asking if there was anything he could do.<p>

Cameron had walked in shortly after, rubbing the remaining sleep from his eyes as he climbed into bed with them. He wished them both a sleepy, "good morning" before burrowing his little body into his mother's side with a yawn.

Mercedes didn't know where she'd find the strength to make it through the day with the way she felt, but she knew she had to push through. Cameron needed a bath and some breakfast. The laundry needed doing. The living room and dining room were a mess. Those things didn't care that the lining of her uterus was currently trying to detach itself from her body.

She smiled at the thought of the concern in Sam's eyes that morning, and the kiss he'd gently pressed against her forehead when he'd pushed her back into bed, insisting on taking care of Cameron's breakfast and the house himself.

"Consider it your day off," he'd told her, and she'd have given anything not to feel as awful as she did in that moment, because she'd have been all over him.

The sound of metal banging on the counter made its way up the stairs, bringing Mercedes out of her thoughts. She groaned at the noise, imagining the damage to what was probably her silverware and the counter.

"Cameron! No," she heard Sam say, now his sixth command of the morning. Cameron uttered a quiet, "sorry," and then all was silent again.

"Come over here and help me with this, little man," Sam said and Mercedes sighed, rolling over and burrowing her face into her pillow. Whatever they were up to, she could only pray she found the kitchen in one piece when she got around to getting out of bed that day.

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><p>He'd wanted to do something nice for Mercedes that morning. He'd never understand what she went through during this time every month, but after four years of marriage, a lifetime spent observing his mom, and many, many talks with his dad and friends on the subject, he knew it never hurt to be extra sweet around this time.<p>

Extra sweet had saved his hide many times, especially when irritable and moody were the watchwords. There was also the fact that he simply loved her and hated seeing her out of sorts.

So, breakfast in bed became the plan. It was sweet with the added bonus of delicious food that she didn't have to prepare herself. That sounded like winning to Sam. He hoped his wife would feel the same.

He'd even enlisted Cameron's help for the occasion...or he'd tried, but Cameron, though eager, had yet to do a single thing to help.

The two-year old had made cymbals of the pot lids, used the stirring spoons to play himself a cool beat on the counters, narrowly missed sneezing into his mother's omelette mix, eaten a good bit of the fruit Sam chopped for Mercedes' breakfast, and tried to climb up onto the kitchen island for a new perspective...everything but actually helping.

There'd even been a flour sprinkling incident as Sam had scooped it into the pancake batter. Cameron had scooped flour onto his dad's hair, clearly the same thing. In short, it'd been trying times, but the pancakes were the last thing and Sam had a job for his son.

"Come over here and help me with this, little man," Sam said after putting all of the ingredients to make his special banana pancake batter in a plastic bowl. He gave Cameron a wooden spoon and set him to the task of mixing before he went to find some orange juice, a glass to pour it in, as well as a tray to carry all the food up to Mercedes.

Sam looked back toward his son several times to make sure he stayed on task in the kitchen before he went into the dining room to grab the glass and the tray. He was back with all of the supplies in minutes."How're we doing, buddy?" he asked his son with a smile, but it was short-lived as he pulled up next to Cameron again.

His son had abandoned the spoon, opting instead to mix the batter with his hands. Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, not even bothering to tell him to stop this time. He just took him to the sink to wash off his hands.

"You're killin' me, Smalls," Sam told his son. His only response was an excited squeal as Cameron played with the water.

Knowing he'd never get to do the actual cooking unless Cameron was kept busy, Sam took his cleaned off son with him on a hunt for paper and crayons through the house. He found the items in his office, sat Cameron at the island, and told him to make a nice card for his mom. He even helped him write the words, "I love you, mommy xoxo" on the outside before he let him color the inside and went about finishing breakfast.

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><p>"What's all this?" Mercedes asked with a smile when they woke her up a half hour later. She felt like crap, but this was decidedly lifting her spirits and that was half the battle.<p>

"We made you breakfast," Sam announced, setting the tray down in front of her. "Well, I made you breakfast. Cam mostly just made a mess."

Cam's smile was unapologetic in light of the news. "I make you a card, momma," he said pushing the piece of paper in her face.

Mercedes' smile was a beam as she grabbed him and the paper onto the bed with her. While she perused his message and the masterpieces within, Cameron perused more of the cut up fruit on her tray."Thank you, baby," she said giving her son a kiss on his cheek as she closed the card. "I love it!"

Cameron smiled around a pilfered strawberry and nodded. "Daddy says it's your time and we hafta be really nice to you," Cameron piped up.

Sam shook his head, smiling sheepishly, while Mercedes let out a bark of laughter. "Did he, now?" she asked, smiling at her husband when she recovered.

"He did," Sam answered quietly.

Mercedes motioned for him to come closer, pulling him down next to her and Cameron when he did. "Thank you, baby. This was really, really nice," she said with a smile before pressing a thankful kiss onto his lips.

"You're welcome," Sam said. It would have been a nice, quiet moment between them as they gazed at one another, but the sounds of Cameron's chomping ruined the moment.

They both laughed, looking down at their oblivious son, who'd moved on to a piece of bread. "You'd better get started before he eats it all," Sam warned and settled back to watch Mercedes (and Cameron) enjoy his labor.

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><p><strong>AN: Once again, writing and editing from my iPod. Please forgive any errors. Written mainly because the treacherous Red Sea decided to make my body its home today, and I want a Sam Evans of the S3 variety to make me breakfast and take care of me. I hope you enjoyed. Please review and make me feel better.**


	50. Brand New Jones

**A/N: I wrote this in the car on the way home this afternoon. This isn't really anything lol. My head swore the two latest pictures of Amber and Chord were connected, so then I made it so. I guess I'll just say it's just a bit of random Little Wonders history. It doesn't really go anywhere, but it was on my mind. This is like pre-LW, before the kids...well, sorta. You'll see. Review if you like.**

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><p>Mercedes stared at her phone, suddenly nervous, as a Skype call came in from Sam. Nervous was something she hadn't felt around him in a long while-years of living together and sharing everything tended to do that-but she couldn't shake her anxiousness now.<p>

She was at the tail end of a two-month tour, traipsing all over breathtaking destinations around the world. As much fun as she was having, however, living out her dreams, she missed him.

She _should_ have been ecstatic. She wanted nothing more than to pick up and speak to him, but the drastic change she'd affected on her hair just that morning gave her a moment's pause. She knew his love was unconditional, unaffected by anything as frivolous as a passing hairstyle, but she feared his reaction just the same.

The last couple of years had been big for her. She'd released her first album. She'd gone on her first big tour. She'd literally been living inside of her dreams, and as if that hadn't been amazing enough, she'd found out she'd been nominated for her first Grammy just a few weeks earlier.

It seemed as if everything she'd dreamed up for herself was finally falling into place—after all the struggle and toil to make it so. She hadn't even begun to process what it all meant for her.

Sam, on the other hand, at taken it all in his stride. He'd always known, always believed, and all of her successes were merely an inevitability as far as he was concerned. Instead of shock, he beamed, exclaiming, "Didn't I tell you?" Mercedes had to admit he did.

Sam hadn't even waited for the awards to arrive—insisting he knew she'd win. He'd proposed right there in bed two seconds after the announcement, pulling the ring from his nightstand and simply slipping it on her finger before he kissed her.

She should have scolded his audacity. She should have called him presumptuous, but he'd literally been proposing on the regular since high school—and the word no had never crossed her mind-not then, and not now.

She'd said 'not right now' in fifty different ways—and he'd persisted through every stipulation and concern, never once doubting his time would come.

They'd been an old married couple all through college anyway—they were teased often. This had just made it official.

Just that afternoon, she'd found out some amazing news that she couldn't wait to share with him. Her anxiety grew at the thought of it. It was going to be the culmination of everything they'd been working towards. They had their dreams. They had the success. They had each other. This would be that last piece of the puzzle. In two weeks, when she was finally home again, she could tell him.

Mercedes couldn't wait. It was going to be a year of fresh, new, amazing things, and,with her birthday coming up the very next day, she felt like her look should reflect that, too.

She'd been confident, excited even, but something about Sam seeing it for the first time suddenly made her nervous. The hair not only signified a new look. It heralded an all new her, a new phase in her life, and she just wanted Sam to get that. She wanted him to love it.

She shook her head, running her fingers through the short strands at the back and looked toward the computer screen on her dresser self-consciously. She was being silly, she decided after a moment. Better to show him now and get it over with, than to wait and drop it on him in a couple weeks along with her other news that was sure to blow his mind.

She connected the call and immediately smiled as his face came into view.

"You took long enough," he teased when he saw her, a smile crookedly stretching his lips.

"Well, I had to get my 'on the road' lover out of view," she joked, laughing when he gave her the stink-eye. "He's camera shy."

"He better be a fuckin' pillow pet," Sam informed her with an indignant snort.

"Body pillow, actually," Mercedes admitted, turning to pick up the item from the bed behind her as proof. "I miss you," she said, poking out her bottom lip.

He was smiling, but an odd look had taken root in his eyes. Mercedes' eyes bugged out and her hand flew to the sheered locks at the back of her head. In the midst of their banter, she'd completely forgotten.

"It's just…" she started, then trailed off, simply shrugging and looking at him—waiting. She turned her head from side to side, giving him the full view. "What do you think?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

The look in his eyes was unreadable, especially behind the sunglasses he was inexplicably wearing indoors.

"Baby, you look," he started and Mercedes waited with baited breath. "It's amazing!" he finished. The smile on his face beamed out from the screen in front of her and Mercedes breathed a relieved breath.

"You think so?" Mercedes' asked.

"Um yeah," Sam nodded. "In fact, I'm mad there's a few states and an ocean between us right now because you wouldn't even have to ask," he informed her, waggling his eyebrows at her.

This stoked a giggle out of her, and Sam ignored her assertion that he was crazy to add, "It looks beautiful. Suits you. New you, new hair. I love it." He smiled when she dropped her blushing face into the pillow, so only her eyes peeked out at him.

Even through the glasses, the bedroom eyes he shot her were unmistakable. Now it was her turn to curse the miles of ocean and land between the two of them. She simply settled for hugging the body pillow tight, reminding herself it was only two weeks.

And changing the subject before things got heated. She'd get him soon.

"Where are you anyway?" she asked, finally noticing his surroundings. Their new house wasn't ready as yet, and he'd been staying at Mike and Tina's while he waited on her to get back and start the decorating process with him.

He clearly wasn't there, however, sitting against a white wall with the sure fire sound of a hustling and bustling crowd around him that she couldn't see.

"I think I was starting to drag Tina down with my pining," Sam admitted freely. "I was wearing one of your tour shirts around and—Mike says it's the baby hormones, I guess—but she'd kind of start crying whenever she saw me. So, I just decided to get out a bit. I'm at Starbucks, being one of those people we always laugh at."

"I hope you brought your glasses," she teased and he hung his head in shame. "Aw, live your life, babe. Get your hipster shine on. I won't tell anyone you had fun."

"Shut up," Sam said with a laugh, shaking his head at her.

"You don't mean that. You love me," Mercedes informed him.

"Doesn't mean you're not annoying," he retorted.

She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed. He suddenly looked up and Mercedes heard a garbled announcement over the microphone. What kind of fancy Starbucks had a PA system? She wondered, but she didn't have time to think about it as Sam turned back to her apologetically.

"I have to go. They're uh, closing soon," he told her. 9pm was a bit early, but she let it go and smiled at him.

He broke out into another soft smile when she ran her fingers through her short hair. "Still can't get over it. You're gorgeous," he told her. Soon after, he was gone, promising to call her soon.

She shut the lid of the laptop as their conversation ended. If he thought the hair was amazing, he'd literally fall over when he heard about what she really wanted to tell him.

She smiled a secret smile as she patted her belly—unaware that _she_ would also be in for a surprise the next night, her birthday, when the one face she longed for every night in the crowd would pop out of stage left as the guitarist for her acoustic set. Happy birthday indeed.

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><p><strong>AN: Hope you liked it. Review?**


	51. Narnia (Chronicles of Lilly's Closet)

Sam groaned as he shut yet another drawer inside Lilliana's closet—or rather, _her clothing maze_, as he was quickly learning. The room might as well have been that with the amount of drawers, racks, and bins housed within, apparently designed to keep him from finding anything. He'd been in there for the better part of fifteen minutes looking for a suitable outfit and had come up with not a one.

Mercedes was usually in charge of the styling, but a last minute appearance at one of Kurt's events for his up and coming clothing line had called her to New York City for a few days. Sam had been confident in his abilities. After all, how hard could it all be?

Everything had been fine until he'd entered that closet. He'd gotten her awake on time, carried her to the tub for her bath, and remembered to power and lotion afterwards. He'd even combed her hair correctly, without making her cry. He'd thought he was good, but it all started to unravel in that closet.

He was beginning to doubt he'd find his way back out with a map. He didn't know how Mercedes did it.

Sam found himself rummaging through seemingly endless racks of little shirts and pants, attempting to build a suitable outfit. Lilliana, the little diva she was, would be sure to let him know if he'd succeeded in that task. She wouldn't leave the house looking a mess. He could just imagine her side-eye, too. It looked just like her mother's.

With Cameron, it'd been a matter of finding a t-shirt to pull on with his jeans—possibly color coordinating his sneakers. Dressing Lilliana was a whole different ball game. There were options—pants, jeans, tights, leggings, tights with glitter...fucking _jeggings_. Sam had no idea which was better than the other or when one was chosen in favor of the other. He was simply at a loss.

He shook his head in bewilderment as he moved to yet another rack of clothes. A smile spread across his lips as he saw the little dresses there, however. Dresses were good—simple. He could do dresses. He grabbed the first one he saw—one she'd worn before—and moved back into her bedroom to finally dress her.

"Lill, what do you think of—." He trailed as he walked into the room only to find it empty. His face wrinkled in confusion. He'd most definitely left his three-year old wrapped up in a towel, telling her not to move, before he'd set off on his quest for suitable attire. The towel itself lay on the bed, but Lilliana was nowhere to be found.

It had been nearly twenty minutes since then, however. He couldn't really blame her for wandering. Sam figured he should have known she would. Lilliana was never so quiet.

Sam set off toward the hall, on a new quest to find where she'd disappeared off to. His immediate guess was Cameron's room, Lilly's favorite room in the entire house. Something about everything inside it being off limits to her just drew her straight to there like a magnet. If she could reach something she would touch it and Cameron's room held everything that she fancied.

He walked in to find his son sitting with his back against his headboard. Cameron didn't look up as his father came in, his head buried inside a new book he was reading for English class.

Knowing how he'd struggled with the subject in school, how he still struggled with the words on a page, it'd always warmed his heart to see Cameron doing it so easily and enjoying himself.

"Have you seen Lilly?" Sam asked from his spot near the door. Cameron still didn't look up. He only lifted a hand to point his index finger at something at the other end of the room.

Sam looked over to find a fully dressed Lilliana, in a white sweater, rainbow leggings and sneakers, obliviously dancing up a storm in the corner of her brother's room. On her head she sported a pair of his new headphones and in her hands she held his iPhone. She babbled along to the lyrics she didn't really know and swiveled her little hips to the beat.

"Who got her dressed?" Sam asked watching as she twirled to the beat of whatever song was rocking her world at the moment. There were a number of things he wanted to address, her dancing in particular, but he started with the most confusing thing, seeing as how he'd been hunting for an outfit she apparently didn't need.

"You're lookin' at him," Cameron said as a matter of fact, still reading his book. He moved his hair out of his face, pulling it into a messy bun, and adjusted himself on the bed. "She was in here—butt-naked, mind you, what's up with _that_—and she said you were lost like in Narnia," Cameron explained, looking up at his dad.

Sam laughed. Her certainly had been.

"I just figured you couldn't find her everyday stuff. That closet is an outrageous maze that only she and mom understand," Cameron said, sympathizing with his father. "Mom left a whole basket of clean clothes in the laundry room, though. I just let her pick 'cause I don't know the first thing about all that. I just vetoed the Princess Tianna heels she actually wanted to wear," Cameron concluded.

Sam made an impressed noise. That was definitely one way to do it. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"I told her to go tell you she was done," Cameron continued. "She was more interested in doing...whatever it is she's doing right now," Cameron said gesturing to Lilliana, who was now performing a stomping dance and shaking her head from side to side with each stomp.

"Rain dance?" Cameron guessed looking at his dad.

"Possibly an Irish step dance...in a mosh pit," Sam suggested solemnly and the two of them laughed together for another moment before turning back to her.

She'd taken a seat on the floor and was staring at the screen of the iPod with a pout. Sam's heart immediately melted and he moved toward her to see what was the matter. He looked toward the screen when he got there and saw Mercedes' album cover. One of her songs was underway and Lilliana listened intently.

"Aw, I miss her, too, Lilly Bean," Sam said picking her up. "Come here."

"I want her come home," Lilliana informed him, her big brown eyes almost pleading with him to make it so.

He twirled her around and smiled when she squealed and dug her fingers into his shoulder, bunching up the fabric of his t-shirt.

"I do, too. I'll tell you what," he told her and immediately had her doe eyes glued to his face. "We can listen to her in the car the whole way to your class and the whole way back and you can sing as loud as you want."

Lilliana smiled a small smile and nodded her agreement. The pout was still there, however.

"I'll help you make a card tomorrow for when she gets back," Cameron offered. "We'll use purple glitter like she likes."

Lilliana nodded a bit more enthusiastically at that, her smile spreading wider.

"And we'll talk to her on the computer tonight and you can show her the outfit you picked all by yourself," Sam added.

That did it. Her smile was back in full force and Sam set her down again. She quickly returned Cameron's things to him, then started to pull Sam out of the room, ready to head to her cooking lesson.

"I'll be back in twenty," Sam called to his son. "Get ready, we'll swing by and get Ty and Uncle Mike and grab some lunch. Call them and let them know."

Cameron nodded his agreement and returned his attention to his book to finish just one last page.

He smiled a few minutes later, as the car pulled out of the driveway towards the gates, Mercedes' voice serenading the entire neighborhood as it played a bit too loudly on the speakers. He could hear Lilliana, too, singing just as loudly as she liked.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you like. I was going to post another one, too, but it needs editing and I'm battling a crazy headache right now. So, it's naptime for me, and hopefully I will be able to post it tomorrow. Please review? :)**


	52. Cardinal Rules

**A/N: Something about discussing these regular moments just gives me all the feels. Just thinking about them hanging out at home, being a family lol. Don't mind me. I'll just be over here. You read on. **This comes right after Chapter 49: Breakfast in Bed timeline wise—as in a couple hours later on that same day.** **

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><p>Mercedes sighed happily as she stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel to dry off. She inhaled the clean detergent scent and smiled. She felt like a new woman. It'd been <em>just <em>what she needed to perfect the morning after Cameron and Sam had brightened it with some excellent breakfast in bed. Her boys always knew just how to take care of her.

Yes, Cameron _had_eaten most of her food, but it was the thought that counted. She was beyond grateful for her boys, even if they drove her crazy most of the time.

After pulling on some cozy yoga pants and one of Sam's old sweaters—nothing said comfort like a day lounging in her hubby's clothes—she moved toward the stairs, trotting down quickly to find her family—moving Cameron's toys out of the way as she went. She'd definitely have to round him up for a lesson in cleaning up at some point that day before someone broke their neck on some Tonka trucks.

Cameron and Sam had left her alone after breakfast, both resigned to a boys' day to let her lounge as she pleased—indulge in some alone time—but alone time was overrated. She was bored without them and wanted their company. She walked towards the den where she could hear Sam chuckling at some silly video, pulling her hair into a quick, messy bun as she went.

"Hey," Sam greeted from his spot on the couch as she walked into the room, her footsteps padding softly on the hardwood floors. He didn't even turn away from the laptop he was using as the video continued playing.

A teasing smile bloomed on his face before he addressed her. "It's only noon! I projected two at least. We're making progress from last month," he said with a laugh.

Except for the video that played on, silence filled the room. Mercedes had stopped short behind him at the sight of the blue towel over his head. She could see his bare shoulders just under the towel and frowned at the back of his head.

At her silence, Sam finally turned around to look at her, his eyes bulging out a bit at the look on her face. "I was joking," he rushed to explain, raising his hands as if in surrender. These were dark times, there was no denying. Her time of the month was a veritable minefield and he wasn't looking for trouble.

"You better not be leaking onto the couch right now, Sam," Mercedes scolded, ignoring him as she put her hands on her hips. The look on her face was tumultuous, and the hands on the hips would usually have him gulping in fear, but Sam immediately smiled in relief.

"Relax, baby," he said sweetly, though his sheepish smile spoke to the fact that she _definitely_ wasn't out of line. He _had_been known to laze around in his board shorts after a dip in the pool many a day—and though his wife was a fan of the view, she definitely wasn't a fan of the wet spots he left all over their furniture.

"I haven't even been to the pool yet," he told her, laying his head on the back of the couch and looking up at her. He smiled as he watched her stance start to relax. "I'm waiting on Cameron. He went to use his potty. He broke the cardinal pool rule last weekend," Sam told her making her giggle. "I told him he could have a snickerdoodle after swimming if he went all by himself."

She moved closer to him and he wrapped his fingers around her wrist when she was close enough. "You feelin' better?" he asked and she nodded, smiling softly at him. He signaled his need for a kiss with a tug on her arms and she immediately complied, pulling away a moment later with a smile.

"What's the cardinal pool rule?" Mercedes asked a moment later.

"You never pee in the pool," Sam responded solemnly and Mercedes burst out laughing.

"I'm serious," Sam said. "You just don't. He peed in the pool, so now there's a new pool rule. You always potty before the pool."

"How many pool rules are there?" Mercedes questioned, taking a seat next to her husband on the couch. She brought her legs up onto the couch and sat facing him.

"There _were _only four. Cameron has five," Sam answered without hesitation.

"Enlighten me," Mercedes teased and Sam immediately began the list.

"Well, there's the peein'," he started.

"Noted," Mercedes said with a nod. They smiled at each other lightly.

"No spittin', spoutin' water, or blowing your nose," Sam continued. Mercedes made a face at him and Sam chuckled. "You'd be surprised. We saw all sorts of things at the swim meets," he told her.

"Gross," Mercedes decided. Sam nodded.

"It was," he said. He continued with, "No entering the pool with cuts and sores and things." Mercedes simply nodded along.

"No naked swimming," Sam continued.

Mercedes raised an eyebrow and Sam's smile turned impish. They'd _definitely _broken that one a few times and then some.

"That one's optional if it's your own pool," Sam justified.

"Uh huh," Mercedes said with a knowing smile.

"I'm not about to apologize," Sam concluded. "Then there's Cameron's rule. Potty then p—."

As if on cue, their son shot out of the hall bathroom and ran passed them, cutting Sam off before he could finish his sentence. Cameron definitely wasn't ready for the pool. In fact, his current 'naked as the day he was born' condition would put him in direct violation of rule four.

"Do I want to know?" Mercedes asked, turning to look at her husband. "Where are his clothes?"

Before Sam could answer, Cameron ran back holding a dish towel in his hands, not stopping to acknowledge his confused parents as they called out to him.

Mercedes looked back to Sam and they stared at each other for a confused moment. "Do you wanna take this one or should I?" she asked with a giggle.

They both stood up at the same time, Sam taking a moment to set down the laptop on the coffee table, and followed Cameron's path. They were greeted by his bare bottom as they pushed the door open. He was on the floor furiously wiping away at a puddle with the dish towel.

Mercedes stifled a giggle as she looked away from their son and let her eyes roam around the bathroom. It seemed their boy had encountered some _difficulty_ with control. All over the bathroom, everything _but_ the potty had been doused and Cameron completed the picture, frantically trying to wipe it all away.

"Well at least he got the right room this time," Sam whispered to his wife. "Maybe next time he'll actually pee in the toilet. Baby steps."

Mercedes nudged her husband with her shoulder as she snickered quietly. "Stop it. He was trying," she whispered back.

"That's exactly what I said," Sam defended. Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Baby," Mercedes said so Cameron would hear. Cameron gasped, standing up as he noticed his parents. He stood with the dish towel behind his back and looked up at them with wide eyes.

"I clean it," the two-year old promised quickly. "I wipe it all up. I try like you show me daddy," he said, his eyes brimming with tears. "Mine don't work so good and it made a mess," Cameron said pointing toward his naked lap at the culprit.

Mercedes and Sam struggled not to laugh at their son, knowing he was really upset.

"Baby, it's okay," Mercedes said kneeling toward her son and scooping him into her embrace. "You just need to practice, that's all," she consoled.

"Yeah," Sam added in support, squatting down to Cameron's level and rubbing his son's back. "I had to practice just like you when I was your age."

Cameron seemed comforted by this and smiled up at his dad. It would have been a moment if Mercedes hadn't chimed in just then. "And even he still gets it wrong sometimes," she teased and Sam immediately turned to her as she giggled with Cameron.

He did the most mature thing he could think of and poked her, causing her to squeal and squirm away from him. "What? You do—especially at night when you're half asleep and don't remember to lift the toilet seat," she said through her laughter as he dug the fingers of both hands into her sides and tickled the life out of her. "It's true! Stop!"

Cameron stepped back, laughing as he watched them squirm around.

"You do it, too," Sam retorted, not letting up. Mercedes dropped herself backwards to get away from him but he went with her.

"That was only when I was pregnant and you know it. Stop!" Mercedes said, squealing out the last word as she tried to move away. "Baby, I'm serious, quit," she said finally breaking free and standing by the door, breathing harshly. He pretended to lunge toward her when he pulled himself up and she held out her hands with a panicked laugh. "No. You've been warned. You know what happened the last time," she said.

Sam let it go for the moment, turning his attention back to helping Cameron clean up. He did indeed remember what happened the last time. Mercedes wasn't responsible for her limbs when she was tickled and just thinking about it had him feeling the knee to the groin he'd gotten that time all over again.

Mercedes risked the close proximity and helped him put their son back into the baby board shorts he'd removed completely before going potty. "You don't have to take them all the way off when you go, little man," she explained.

"Just push them down and pull them back on when you're done," Sam explained.

Cameron looked at them and nodded and Mercedes smiled at them as Sam accepted a hug from his son before accepting hers. "We'll try again later. You ready for the pool?" she asked.

Cameron nodded eagerly and let his mom pull him toward the door. Sam hung back. "I have to go," he said pointing to the toilet.

"Remember the cardinal rule of the bathroom," Mercedes teased at his announcement, never stopping her progression out the door, and Sam gave her the stink eye. "If you sprinkle when you tinkle, be a sweetie and wipe the seatie," Mercedes finished and promptly dissolved into giggles at her own joke. Cameron hung on to her leg and smiled at his dad, before Mercedes pulled him down the hall toward the pool.

"Yuck it up," Sam told her, rolling his eyes and closing the door even as he laughed along with her.

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><p><strong>AN: Then Sam and Cam went swimming and Sam taught Cam how to float. Then Mercedes brought them snickerdoodles and milk by the pool and the boys took a break to eat with her and they all sat around talking about their disastrous events in potty training when they were kids. And Sam caught an ass whooping when they were going back inside for hugging his wife with his wet clothes, but he deserved it cause he did that shit on purpose. And Cameron just stood around laughing at them because his parents are crazy. The end. **

**What family is complete without discussing peeing on the seat and adventures in potty training? LOL. I hope you liked it. This will be my last update for a few weeks until I get my new computer. So I hope it's enough lol. See y'all here again in February. Please please review! :)**


	53. I Love The 'Bitch'

**A/N: I said I would write this a while ago, when that picture of Chord and his nephew at the beach popped up on tumblr. So, here it is lol. Samcedes Family Beach Day.**

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><p>"Plot twist," Sam said with a laugh and a shake of his head as he looked at his son. Cameron was currently hanging on to his mother for dear life as she struggled to detach him from her body and deposit him into the ocean just beneath her feet. "Come on, buddy," he encouraged, "let go."<p>

The water felt nice as it crashed against her skin and Mercedes dug her toes into the warm sand with a smile. Cameron on the other hand, dug his little fingers around the straps of his mother's swim suit and tightened his legs around her, staring down into the water fearfully. "No," he said simply, and he punctuated the statement with a shake of his head.

The family had decided on a beach day earlier that week, Cameron's first as they'd been waiting on him to be comfortable walking before they even had him try to walk on sand.

Mike and Tina had encountered a disastrous time when they'd brought Tyler for the first time a few months before-when he'd _just_ started walking around the house by himself. Tyler had stepped a toe into the sand, felt the tiny grains dip, then promptly started screaming until the couple had no choice but to pack it up and go home. It wasn't until the second trip a few months later, when he'd gotten his footing, that he'd learned to love it.

Sam and Mercedes wanted the same for Cameron, so they'd waited. They'd coaxed the two-year old in the meantime, building up this day to the point that one of the only words he'd been saying of late was 'beach'—which had come out sounding a little more like 'bitch'. _That_ had provided days of entertainment for his evil parents, who made him say it over and over for their own amusement.

It'd only gotten decidedly unfunny at Cameron's trip to the dentist's office earlier that week. The room he was seen in had an ocean decor-little cartoon sea creatures going to and fro-and Cameron had promptly pointed at the walls with a huge smile as Sam set him down in the chair to be examined.

"Daddy, _bitch_!" he'd screamed delightedly and his parents had wanted to die as the dentist let out an uncertain chuckle and looked to them—but that was a story for another time.

They'd also gotten _completely_ carried away with the preparation for this day—Mercedes setting the tone with her purchase of a bagful of board shorts that Cameron would most likely never have the time to wear. She'd wanted her son to have options, however, and Sam had followed her lead, buying out the beach toy section.

In truth, what two-year old _didn't_ need a surf board?

So, he'd gotten one—and Cameron was now readier for the water than any toddler who'd ever lived. Except Cameron didn't actually want to get in the water. He was fine on the sand, choosing to hang out there for most of the morning with no real interest in the vast unchartered territories before him.

Undiscouraged by this, Mercedes had gotten him started with a pail and bucket so he could build sandcastles and Sam had turned into the paparazzi snapping pictures-until that had been cut short when Cameron decided to use the pail for gleefully pelting sand all over the place. Mercedes screamed when the first shower started flying and by the time she'd gotten the pail away from him, it was too late.

Another child had started crying and they'd had to pack up and move their camp further away from his irate parents—Mercedes grumbling the whole time that it wasn't even that serious. "They didn't have to make such a big fuss," she'd informed Sam, incensed. "It was clearly an accident."

Sam had nodded his agreement. The child had only started crying because he was surprised and Sam's heart melted at the thought of Cameron's concerned expression when he saw the other boy crying. He'd even tried to help him brush off the sand, but Mercedes had scooped Cameron away at the other family's angry looks toward him.

"In the real world, kids throw sand," she'd informed Sam, incensed. "He's just a baby," she went on, walking a few more steps before setting him down again. She'd set to the task of setting out their blankets again, clearly upset, and Sam had only sighed, hoping this wouldn't put a damper on things.

It hadn't, thankfully. Mercedes had been able to settle again after getting everything set up a second time-Sam's dedication to that task helping a great deal. He'd insisted they take selfies to taunt Tina and Mike who were currently surrounded by snow in Chicago where Mike was working on a huge production. They'd gone through a series of faces, even taking the time to teach Cameron to make a duck face, and Mercedes was laughing so hard by the end of it, she'd all but forgotten the other family. Hers gave her all the positive energy she needed.

From there, their focus had been getting Cameron into the water. They'd counted on the passed time to get him more comfortable with the idea. He refused at every turn, however, 'no' being his word of choice that day. No to chasing his dad into the water. No to holding his mom's hand and calmly walking in. Finally, no to being set into the water from Mercedes' hip. No _and_ a firm shake of his head.

By now, Sam could admit the surfboard had been a bit of a stretch.

Mercedes added to that assessment, saying, "We _would_ be the one couple to breed a Los Angelean that doesn't like the ocean," Mercedes commented as they headed back to their towels, with Cameron still firmly attached to her hip.

"He can barely stand his baths without screaming bloody murder" Sam told her, thinking of all the times they'd had to chase him around the house come bath time. "The ocean probably just looks like a giant tub to him," he added with a laugh.

Mercedes' face suddenly lit up at the comment and she looked to Sam with wide eyes and a growing smile. She'd stopped walking and he joined her, staring at her oddly. "What?" he asked, his eyes darting over his face. "You've got that look you always get when you're about to be up to something really good or really bad."

Mercedes only laughed and set their son on the ground."I'm gonna get him in the water," she informed Sam, still smiling as he looked at her. He raised an eyebrow at the statement. Seconds later she took off toward the ocean and he had no choice but to follow, pulling Cameron along by the hand.

"How?" he asked with a chuckle as they moved along behind her.

He laughed as she ran ahead of them into the water, looking adorable as she sat down in one of the shallowest parts of the water, smiling back at them. He watched her start to splash around, checking to see if any potentially irate families were in the vicinity, as she scooped up the water and threw it everywhere.

She clearly knew her son because the first shower of water had him smiling and clapping his hands on the shore. Mercedes went right on throwing water and calling out to Cameron in the meantime, enticing him more and more with every splash of water.

It might have been hell to get him in the tub, but once he was there, splashing water everywhere was one of his favorite activities. It'd only taken Sam's comment for her to connect the dots. At home he wasn't allowed to splash the water, but here he was actually being invited to do it. That was all the toddler needed. He took the first step toward the water on his own and Mercedes really kicked it up then, sending the water flying in every which way. Sam walked along beside him with a smile, making sure he didn't fall and ruin his progress.

It was only a few moments before Cameron had reached his mom and joined in the fun as he sat safely in her arms. The two of them blissfully pelted water at Sam, laughing as he spluttered around for Cameron's benefit.

In this manner, they spent their day splashing around, only breaking the fun to run back toward the beach for lunch and sandcastle building—also burying Sam in the sand when he'd fallen asleep. Mercedes had cried laughing and Sam was determined to get her back when she least expected it.

"It wasn't even me," Mercedes protested as they walked back to the car.

"I'm supposed to believe our two-year old masterminded the entire thing?" Sam asked, shooting her a look that said he was calling bullshit.

"Yes. The evil plot was his," she told him, pointing to their tuckered out two-year old, who'd fallen asleep in her arms. "All I did was cover your arm and maybe a leg or two. Possibly a torso," she added in a quiet mutter that Sam still caught. He still had sand stuck in unmentionable places and she was going to get it. He already had a plan. It involved the water heater switch.

They loaded Cameron into the car as the sun set and he stirred as they settled him into his seat. He yawned before sending his parents into laughing fits at his assessment that, "The _bitch_ is fun."

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><p><strong>AN: I hope y'all enjoyed. Please leave a review.**


	54. You Won't Feel A Thing

**A/N: It's been a while since I wrote a proper LW chapter. I present this one nervously. I don't know what spurred it on, but it is what it is. I hope those of you still reading will enjoy it. I'd love to hear your thoughts. :) NOTE: The title song, You Won't Feel A Thing is one of my favorites by The Script. It felt fitting for the mood here.**

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><p>Mercedes glanced at the little stack of papers that sat on her passenger seat, unable to contain the awed smile that seeped across her lips at the sight. A little jig danced out of her and she squealed in excitement as she turned her attention back to the road. She couldn't believe it'd finally happened!<p>

She had one person at the forefront of her list of 'thank-yous' and she was making her way to him now, as quickly as she could. She was going a little faster than she should have been, but she figured today, of all days, called for the exception. Sam would surely be home from work by now, and she couldn't wait to share the amazing news she'd just received with him. She could just imagine his face and the thought forced a giddy laugh out of her as her car hurtled on down the road toward their home. She usually took the time to notice and appreciate the sights, but not today. Today she only had one focus and she couldn't get to him fast enough.

The car had barely rolled to a stop in the parking lot of their little town home complex before she was jumping out of it, grabbing up the stack of papers as she went. She started at an excited walk, trying to affect an air of calm as she waved happily at her neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. MacAuley. She and Sam usually made a point to stop and talk to the old couple that lived across the way from them, but Mercedes found she couldn't stand still long enough for it today.

She gave up all pretenses of calm and took off at a sprint for their door, ignoring the startled faces of her neighbors, who'd expected at least a short chat. There'd be time for explanations later. Now, she needed to get to Sam. She'd seen his car in the parking lot and couldn't wait another second.

Turning the key in the lock, she opened the door to their apartment. The foyer looked just like it did on any other day—the picture of them that Kurt had framed and gifted them as a housewarming present hung on the far wall, Sam's shoes were thrown haphazardly near the jacket rack. Normally it would have driven her crazy and she'd arrange them neatly in the hallway closet before she found him and scolded him about it, but she didn't care today. Today would change their lives forever. Lecturing Sam about cleanliness making a happy home could wait.

Mercedes knew something was off the second she stepped foot inside the main part of the house, however. She was sure she'd seen Sam's car outside as she made her way in, but found everything dark within. Her expression transitioned from a giddy smile into a confused scrunch of her nose as she looked around. Any number of things could have happened—he could have been asleep extremely early in the evening, or he could have gone back out with Mike or Puck—but the instinctive tightness in her gut forbade her from dismissing this.

She made her way to and up the stairs in the dark, two years living in the same space having made her an expert in the layout. Only a small glow of light coming from their bedroom door guided her down the hall. Her fears were confirmed as she approached and heard a muffled sob through the slightly ajar door.

Immediately, she pushed it open and walked through. She could tell Sam was startled at the sight of her. She did usually call out his name from downstairs to alert him of her arrival, but she'd been distracted today. His eyes grew wide at the sight of her before he turned away, putting his back to her as he wiped at his eyes. "Hi, baby," he said in an awkward cheer, still not looking at her.

"What's wrong?" Mercedes said, not even bothering to answer. Seeing him cry always stirred a strange reaction within her. She was always caught between wanting to cry with him and wanting to kick whoever's ass it was that hurt him. Those emotions swirled within her as she moved toward him with purpose, and lit the lamp next to their bed, her gut tightening even more as she took in the redness of his eyes. "Sam, what happened?" she prodded.

"Not—," Sam started, but didn't even get to finish as Mercedes shook her head at him. She didn't have time for that.

"People don't cry in the dark when nothing is wrong, Sam," she said, sitting down in front of him and staring at him expectantly. At his challenging look, she rolled her eyes and shoved lightly at his arm. "That was one time," she defended. "And it wasn't nothing. A Walk to Remember was on and you know that movie makes me the hottest of messes."

Sam only let out a small chuckle before he looked down at his hands, sighing a bit forlornly with the action. Mercedes watched his every movement intently, before taking up one of his hands and linking their fingers. Next, she used her free hand to gently nudge at his chin, forcing him to look at her. She felt the tightness in her gut worsen as she noticed more tears welling up in his eyes.

"Baby," she whispered in a quiet panic, pleading with him to speak. Only twice had Sam ever shut down like this, and by the end of those particular exchanges, she'd found herself saying goodbye. Then, their summer romances had spanned mere months , but it'd still broken her heart to let him go. Mercedes' heart thudded with the fear of what he'd say now.

The uncertainty threatened to overwhelm her. She had no idea what this was about, and every passing second he remained silent only added to her fear. The sick feeling in her stomach grew as his eyes roamed her face, seeming to debate his decision, before he sighed and looked away again—a clear sign that whatever he was about to say would devastate them both. Mercedes swallowed thickly against the panic growing within her—a far cry from the giddiness that had been there in the moment before.

She was about to prompt him again—to tell him they would deal with whatever it was together if he'd just tell her—but he cut her off, finally responding.

"I lost my job," Sam said quietly, not looking back up at her.

This startled her, forcing a gasp out of her. She hadn't known what to expect, but that definitely hadn't been it. Relief was next, settling over her like a soothing balm. This they could certainly get through. Knowing how this would devastate Sam, however, left an overwhelming hurt—not for her, but because she knew just how badly this would cut him. The emotions whizzed through her so fast, they left her disoriented.

Mercedes' heart sank as she looked at Sam who had still not looked up at her. She couldn't see his face, but observed how the tips of his ears burned red with his own mix of emotions. He didn't have to explain how he felt—not to her. She'd been there with him once before and she knew the despair and humiliation that made its way through him and threatened to break his spirit.

She found herself struggling to hold back tears at the unfairness of it all. He didn't deserve this—not a second time, not after all he'd done to get past that traumatic period in his life. But it was the nature of life, she knew this, after all. You didn't always get what was fair.

Her grip tightened on his hand as she let the news settle, blowing out a calming breath to stop her tears as she watched Sam. A quiet sniffle alerted her to the fact that he'd lost his control. He hid his face as he cried quietly, and held on to her hand.

This was his worst nightmare, she knew. Many conversations during their time together, particularly their two years in this house, attested to that fact. She knew his urge to provide and protect was in his nature—he was a southern boy through and through, after all. She knew the thought that he couldn't do it now gnawed at him.

His protective instincts had gone into overdrive in high school, after what he and his family had gone through. Even though it'd been years, and his family had eventually gotten back on their feet, Sam had never forgotten the terror and uncertainty of that period in his life and he worked hard everyday to prevent it from ever happening again—at one point working three jobs to make sure they—and his family, who he still felt responsible for—had a comfortable budget.

Countless times over their years together, particularly after they'd made the decision to live together, she'd watched him work himself to exhaustion to make and save money and make sure that he could take care of them both—even with her job at the record label. No matter what she told him—and they argued about it often—he was determined to be that provider, a caretaker that she could depend on. "It's just who I am, baby," he would say, and that would be the end of that conversation until the next time.

It was only when he'd landed himself in the hospital that Mercedes had issued an ultimatum. After a week working double shifts at the local gym where he'd gotten a job as a trainer, he'd passed out at the wheel on his way home. He'd offered her a sheepish smile when she'd showed up at the hospital—a mess of nerves and barely restrained panic—in no kind of mood for smiling.

The telephone pole he'd wrapped his car around had been a warm hug compared to the look Mercedes had given him that day. Her voice had been hard—immovable—when she'd told him, "I'm not gonna do this anymore. I'm not gonna to stand idly by and watch you kill yourself. In every other aspect of our relationship, we help each other. Let me help you with this or I'm gonna to need some time to think about things."

Sam was pretty, but he wasn't dumb and he knew exactly what that meant. It hadn't been an easy sacrifice for him, but he'd done it to keep her. It'd worked for them, giving them more time together, both of their checks keeping them in a comfortable lifestyle—until now.

Mercedes knew how devastating this was to him. She knew the feelings of failure that would swirl within him. She would never see him that way, but she'd been with him long enough to know he'd feel it about himself and found herself blinking against the building tears that stung at her eyes.

It wouldn't matter what she said. Sam's struggle was with himself. Still, she tried to comfort him, wrapping her arms around him and bringing him into her embrace. He went, but reluctantly, and Mercedes bit back a frustrated groan as he tensed in her arms.

"Sam," she spoke softly, her words muffled by his shoulder, "it's okay. You'll get another job."

His chuckle was derisive in nature and Mercedes frowned when she heard it. "Yeah? Where? I've been trying. There's nothing out there."

Mercedes pulled back at this, scrunching up her face in confusion as she looked at him. He still couldn't lift his eyes to her and stared at his hands, the tips of his ears still burning red with a maze of emotions.

She hadn't asked anything, but he answered anyway. "It was a month ago," he explained. Mercedes' mind reeled as she took it in. "The gym is downsizing, catering to a different clientele, so they let a bunch of trainers go."

"And where have you been going everyday for the last month?" Mercedes asked. Her eyes were wide, unshed tears lying in wait as she stared at him in disbelief.

"I've been trying to find something else when I'm not in class," he muttered. "There's nothing out there," he added quietly after a moment. "Nothing for a poor, dyslexic nobody from some podunk Midwest town no one's ever heard of—not unless I'm taking off my clothes again."

"Oh my God," Mercedes breathed out, the tears finally pushing their way out. There were a dozen things within that statement that broke her heart—and she didn't know which one to focus on first.

"Why didn't you talk to me about this, Sam?" she said after a moment, her tone floating somewhere between disappointment and hurt. It hurt to think he hadn't trusted her with this.

He'd hidden it for weeks, pretending everything was normal—smiling through dinners and breakfasts and downtimes like nothing was wrong. Carrying on with date nights and gifting her trinkets when he'd had this huge weight on his shoulders. And he would have kept it up for God knows how long if she hadn't startled him into the truth today. "How could you keep this from me?" she demanded, though the tears in her voice softened the hardness of the question significantly.

He still didn't look up, wringing his hands when he answered, "I didn't want to worry you. I have money saved up and I thought I could find something else before I had to say anything, but it hasn't worked out."

Mercedes watched as he nervously dug the nails of on of his hands into the palm of the other as he spoke. Immediately she reached out a hand to stop the action, even if what she really wanted to do was smack him for keeping this from her this long.

"The few interviews I've gotten," he continued, and she could hear the tears laced in his voice, "they've all decided to go for someone with more experience or just someone with something better than what I have to offer and I don't know."

Mercedes stayed silent then—they both did—lost in her thoughts as she let his words settle. Once again, her emotions charged at her from every direction—sympathy, hurt, anger, guilt, sadness, and a host of others battling for dominance. None won out over her love for him, however. None were as strong as her need to protect him and be there for him no matter what.

This made his next words all the more startling.

"You can leave, you know," he said quietly. The offer contrasted completely with his demeanor as more tears seeped from his eyes and his grip on her hand grew tighter. "I won't blame you if you do. You deserve the world...and someone who can give it to you."

He wasn't expecting it when she smacked the back of his head and looked up at her in shock. As he spluttered to find his words, she kept right on hitting him, landing painful little jolts to the side of his head and his arms that she hoped would knock some sense into him.

He finally gave up on speaking and focused on stopping the attack. He managed to gather her smaller hands between his larger ones and finally looked at her. Mercedes' gaze was fire and by the way he gulped at the sight of it, she knew he knew he was in trouble. Good.

"First of all," she said pulling one of her hands out of his to hold up one finger. She would have laughed at the way he winced if she'd been in any mood for laughing. "No one—not you, not me—no one is going any damn where. Money has nothing to do with why I'm with you, Sam, and I'm pissed you would even think something like this would send me packing. You know me better than that...or at least I thought you did."

"Babe—," he started, but her assertion that she wasn't finished wilted whatever he'd been about to say.

"I love you. That's it. Just you. Regardless of your account balance," she told him and watched as tears welled up in his eyes again. "You know, the boy that bought out the state of Ohio's stock of helium balloons when I got a record deal because of a video he posted in the first place, the boy that left everything he knew behind and followed me across the country so we could be together, because he loves me that much. The boy who drives me hours out of the way from showcase to showcase without complaint because he believes in me, and because I'm afraid to get on the freeway. The one who wakes up early on my performance days to make me smiley face pancakes. The one that gets me drunk when I don't get callbacks and dances the night away with me so I forget to be sad."

He was crying in earnest now and she gently brushed those tears away with her thumb, letting her other fingers settle softly against his face before she continued.

"I love that boy," she told him sincerely. "He's worth all the money in the world to me. Fuck a Chase bank."

He gave her a watery chuckle at that, pulling her into an adoring hug. She smiled as she felt him settle against her, his body relaxing with every second she held on. "I love you, too," he said quietly and she only nodded, squeezing him tighter.

"I had a second of all," Mercedes said calmly. "It's lost some of its ire with all the hugging," she added. Sam laughed again.

"Go for it," he told her. "I'm listening." They didn't attempt to pull away from their embrace.

"If I want the world, I'll get it for myself," she told him. "Mercedes Jones doesn't need any man, including you, to give her a damn thing."

"Noted," he told her.

"I'm serious, Sam. You're not gonna work yourself into an early grave because you think I deserve things. I have enough things. I don't need more, but I do need you," she told him.

"Okay," he answered before burying his face into her neck.

"Okay," she mimicked, dropping her voice an octave to mock him. "You better understand me. I'm not gonna stop at smacking you if you ever do this to me again," she warned.

Her only response was a placating kiss to her neck as his arms wrapped tighter around her.

"We have to talk about what we're gonna do, though," he said after a moment. He sat up to look at her and heaved out a sigh. "My savings can last us a little while, but I need to find something fast if I'm gonna keep up with school and rent."

"I think I've got it covered," Mercedes said, biting her lip against a smile, thinking of what she'd come in here prepared to tell him before things had gone downhill.

Sam looked at her surprised and started to shake his head. "I couldn't ask you to do that, baby."

"You're not asking me," she said simply.

"But you already do half the rent and you need the money for studio time," Sam argued.

"Actually, that's going to be something my new label takes care of from now on," Mercedes said nonchalantly, showing no emotion as she looked at him, despite the fact that she was practically bursting with excitement inside.

"Your new—? What?" Sam asked, confused. His eyes searched her face.

"Columbia offered me a record deal," she said nearly blinding him with the smile that just had to come out.

"What?" Sam asked, clearly having trouble doing away with the fog in his brain. His eyes opened wide and his breathing started coming out in shakier drafts.

"After my last showcase—the one at the Music Box that sold out," Mercedes said excitedly and giggled when Sam nodded along dumbfounded. They both remembered that show well. It'd been a crazy packed house and Mercedes' growing fan base had definitely come out and shown her an amazing amount of love.

"Well, I didn't know at the time, but Cassidy, the head of the label for my backup deal, pulled some strings to get the A&R guys from Sony there," she said. Tears stung at her eyes, but Sam was past that point already crying again. Mercedes giggled again as she watched him. "She said she didn't have to pull their arms or anything. It seems they'd already seen a few—and by a few, I mean an arsenal of—videos of me singing on a certain someone's YouTube channel and were quite 'aware of the buzz.' Their words, not mine."

"Baby," was all Sam could say and Mercedes couldn't stop laughing at him. He was bawling like someone had offered him a contract.

"I went in today to record and they showed up with Cassidy and my manager. I have a record deal," she finished. Sam was beyond forming words so she added, "It's only for one album at this point, but everyone has high hopes."

She laughed a watery laugh as she looked at Sam. His overwhelmed demeanor was right in line with what she'd expected, but she needed him to speak. "Baby, say something," she prodded.

"I told you," was what he managed to eke out and then he was hugging her as he cried it out onto her shoulder. Mercedes laughed and nodded as she patted his shoulder. He had indeed told her—many, many times over the course of their years together, believing it firmly even when she wasn't so sure of herself. He'd told her.

So, now she told him. "See?" she said, shifting so his face was held gently between her hands. "When God closes a door, he opens a window. We're gonna be okay."

He kissed her then, pouring into it everything he had and she returned it with equal fervor hoping it made him understand just how much he was worth to her.

"We'll be more than okay, actually," she said when she'd pulled out of kiss. "They gave me an advance for the deal, to help with living expenses and all while I'm recording."

She pulled out the stack of papers she'd haphazardly dropped on the bed when she came in earlier, opening it to the particular page she was talking about and pointing at the figure. Sam's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he looked at the sum.

"Maybe this is a good thing," she pointed out. "You could focus on school."

Sam looked back up at her and frowned. "I'm not gonna live off of you, Mercedes."

"Fine," she said, knowing she was never going to get him to agree to an expense free existence on her dime. It just wasn't who he was. "But you don't need to kill yourself with a million jobs and you can take your time finding one that you love, that would work with your schedule," she argued.

"Besides," she started in a teasing tone, and Sam's answering look told her he was just waiting for whatever silly thing she was about to say. "I wouldn't be opposed to being your sugar mama for a little while."

"Ugh," Sam said closing his eyes. "Stop," he finished, laughing despite himself and shaking his head.

"I know you wanna take care of everything all the time, but it's a physical impossibility. Promise me you'll come to me if you need help, Sam," Mercedes said. Gone was the teasing smile and any trace of humor in both her expression and tone. "I am your girlfriend, but I'm not a damsel in distress. I can take care of myself—and help take care of you, too, when you need it, even sometimes when you don't just because I like to. Let me."

"Okay," Sam said quietly.

"Okay," Mercedes said, once again mimicking his tone by dropping her voice a few octaves. "You're such a knucklehead," she said shaking her head and side-eyeing him. Sam smiled at her sheepishly. "I swear I'm gonna kick your ass if you ever do this to me again."

"I won't. I promise," he told her.

She raised her pinky and he laughed before hooking his around hers. They each sealed the deal with a chaste kiss over their crossed pinkies.

"Good. Now it's binding. If you break it, I can cut off your finger," she told him. Seconds later, she was up and headed to the their master bath.

"I don't think that's how that works," he told her, looking after her from the bed in confusion, but she wasn't listening.

"Alright," she said ignoring his comment. "Get showered and get sexy. I made us reservations at that new place downtown and I want to celebrate with the person who made it all happen," she said throwing the dress she'd been wearing back inside the room.

Sam watched it all happen, caught between a smile at her sweet words and arousal at the sight of her dress sailing to the floor which could only mean one thing. His afternoon had pretty much gone from rock bottom to someplace pretty good in the last half hour and his brain was struggling a bit to catch up.

"And by 'person' I mean you, Sam," she said, her smiling face appearing in the doorway. "You should get in here." Moments later, the water started and Sam's brain finally caught up, propelling him into the bathroom where his afternoon went from pretty good to pretty damn great.

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><p><strong>AN: Like I said, I hope you liked it. Please leave me a review if you did! Until next time! :)**


	55. Happy Anniversary

"Baby, would you _wait_ a second," Sam said, his expression the picture of exasperation as he followed behind a clearly perturbed Mercedes. She scoffed and shook her head at his words, not bothering to look back as she walked away from him.

"No," she delivered, in a tone so curt he would have laughed—if laughing in this instance wouldn't have wrought him a certain ass-whooping. It'd been this way since he'd informed her—at what was meant to be a relaxing dinner—that he'd be going away "for a work thing"..on the day of their first wedding anniversary. Sam had never known a smile could literally melt off of someone's face, but he'd learned it could as Mercedes' slowly disappear. He'd known his news wouldn't be so well received, but he hadn't expected this level of ire.

Still he smirked as he watched her go, angrily sashaying her way across the room, appreciating every bit of the view.

The smirk and his leering gaze were short lived, however, as she suddenly whirled around to face him, anger scrunching up her features now. "How could you do this?" she demanded, and Sam soon found himself resisting another smirk as she stalked back to him and poked his chest with one little finger as she asked again. "How could you _do this_?"

"I didn't think it would be that big of a—," Sam said, eyes widening and words trailing at the enraged gasp that left her at _that_ statement. It'd definitely been the wrong thing to say.

"_You didn't think it would be that big a deal_?" she repeated and then just stared at him, clearly overcome. "You didn't think _missing our first wedding anniversary_ would be _that big of a deal_?" Her tone was low and dangerous and the fact that he hadn't spontaneously gone up into a burst of flames at her look surprised him.

He gulped at her question, but provided no other answer, only staring at her in bewilderment as he tried to think of something to say. She rolled her eyes at him before focusing her gaze somewhere else, as if the mere task of looking at him was a chore.

He reached out to touch her arm, attempting to calm her down, but it was the wrong move. It immediately set her off and she batted his hands away before taking off once more, leaving him to follow after her once again.

She stalked her way around the house, putting her leftovers into the fridge, her jacket in the closet, and adjusting the central air before she went up the stairs, and into their bedroom. He followed desperately trying to explain himself.

"I just thought we could do something when I got back," he reasoned as they walked into the bedroom. "It doesn't really matter about the day." The side-eye she sent his way at that statement told him he'd thought wrong.

"What are you even saying right now?" she asked, genuinely confused as she turned around to face him head on. "What's wrong with you?" she asked, and then stood waiting for an actual answer.

"What?" Sam asked, eyes-widening at her question. "It's just an anniversary."

"No, seriously," she said, eyes widening in disbelief at his words. "What's wrong with you? I would have expected this from anyone else but you. What the hell?!" she yelled, infuriated. When he just stayed quiet, she added, "You commemorated our one week anniversary, Sam. Remember that?"

A small smile touched his lips. He did remember.

It'd been a very sweet affair where he'd shown up on her doorstep with 'to go' cups of the same coffee orders from their date at the Lima Bean and his guitar. They'd had their coffee and then he'd serenaded her, the notes of A Rocket to the Moon's 'Whole Lotta You' filling the late evening air around them, coaxing shy looks and enamored smiles out of both of them—which had eventually progressed into sweet summer kisses.

They'd been oblivious to the watchful gazes of Mercedes' parents, only having eyes for each other. Sam hadn't had much money to offer her trinkets and things then, but he'd still wanted to let her know that she was special and he was crazy about her. She'd smiled at him after, looking at him as if he'd just given her the moon. He'd kissed her then, giving her another piece of his heart.

"You've celebrated every little thing since we got together," Mercedes said, bringing Sam out of his little reverie. Her face was the picture of genuine confusion. Sam was a hopeless romantic, always had been. Grand gestures and making the little things count were kind of his things. It was one of the things she loved about him—about being with him. "I don't understand this," she told him.

Gone was the anger that had been propelling her since the restaurant. In its place was a cute little pout that threatened to break Sam's heart.

"It's just a work thing," Sam said with a defeated shrug. "It just came up."

"And you can't get out of it?" Mercedes asked. "What kind of work thing is it?"

"Just like meetings and things. I'd suggest you come but, I'll be pretty tied up and it probably wouldn't be very fun. We can just celebrate when I get back," he said putting on a hopeful smile.

Mercedes only shook her head and Sam had to look away from the disappointment rolling off her in waves. She said nothing more as she moved about the room, changing out of the pretty dress she'd been wearing for their weekly date night, and into a footed pajama. The emergence of _that_ article of clothing told Sam two things: she was upset and needed comforting, and he would be getting _not even_ an inch of skin to tease for the foreseeable future.

She huffed as she went through her nightly routine, not even bothering to look at him as she did so. Sam sighed as he followed suit, changing out of his clothes and into a pair of pajama bottoms. When he was done, he sat in the bed, watching her every move as she removed her make-up and wrapped up her hair.

As soon as those tasks were done, she dropped into their bed on her side, lying on her side and turning her back to him—a clear sign that she wasn't happy with him. "Goodnight," she eked out sullenly and Sam bit back a laugh at her tone.

He immediately went to her and tamped down a chuckle at the way she tensed when he put an arm around her. "Goodnight, baby," he offered back sweetly. "I love you," he told her, smiling when she only offered, "Mm," as a response.

It was quiet between them for another moment. Her eyes were closed, but Sam knew from the way she still tensed in his arms that she wasn't asleep.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked obtusely.

Her immediate scoff was expected. Her eyes popped open as she asked, "What the hell do you think? I just found out I'm celebrating my first year of marriage alone and my husband doesn't think that it's a big deal."

"So then come on the trip, Mercedes," Sam said, having the audacity to sound exasperated with her. "After my meetings, we'll do something," Sam suggested.

Mercedes scoffed again, shifting away from him. "Playing second fiddle to your job on my anniversary. Let me get my bag." She rolled her eyes at him and Sam laughed silently at her tone.

"Mercedes, I'm trying here," Sam added with a straight face.

Mercedes turned to him, staring again in disbelief. "I'm this close to smacking you," she warned in a low tone, staring at him angrily. "Do you understand that you're hurting my feelings with all of this right now? Why are you acting like this is okay? I don't even know you right now."

"I'm not—," Sam started, but she cut him off.

"You are!" she yelled. "I'm just supposed to sit and wait for you in some hotel room in...wherever you're going—," Mercedes started, realizing he'd never told her.

"Hawaii," Sam supplied, helpfully.

"Your _work_ thing is in Hawaii?" Mercedes asked, her face the picture of her confusion once again. She was reaching the end of her patience with all of this and pinched the bridge of her nose as Sam started speaking.

"I think so," Sam said, reaching into his night stand and pulling out an airline ticket for the trip. He made a show of opening it to check and then nodded. "Yup. Maui," he added and handed her the ticket.

She rolled her eyes at him as she took the ticket and opened to look at the information printed on it. Sam watched her face intently. "Oh great," she said with a derisive chuckle. "Then you and your boss can celebrate with a romantic dinner and walk on the beach toget—," Mercedes started, then stopped mid-sentence and looked up at her husband.

"What?" Sam asked innocently.

"Why does this ticket say my name on it," she asked. He could see her breathing starting to pick up pace and she watched as Sam's eyes went wide.

"Does it?" he asked in a show of surprise as he leaned over to take a look. "Oh, yeah," he said as he sat back to look at her. "That's probably because I've been messing with you for the last two hours."

Mercedes only stared at him. He watched as every emotion in the book flitted across her face while she tried to settle on one.

"We're going to Maui for our anniversary. I don't have a work thing," Sam provided with a bright smile. He'd barely gotten the sentence out before Mercedes landed her first punch.

"You are such a fucking troll," she screamed as she pounced. The smile on her face softened the accusation some. Sam let out a loud cackle of a laugh as he tried to shy away from her but only really succeeded in lying on his back and allowing her to straddle him.

After a few hits, he managed to get her little fists under control and used his grip on them to pull her face down to his.

"I hate you," Mercedes told him. The smile pulling on her lips said different.

"False," was Sam's reply. The talking between them stopped altogether after that as he captured her rebuttal in a searing kiss.

His payback came later in the form of pesky footed pajamas that were nearly impossible for his impatient hands to get her out of.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I don't care what Glee writers say. This is Sam & Mercedes' future for me. I hope y'all enjoyed. Please leave me a review! :) **


	56. Little Secrets

Mercedes paused as her performance came to an end, an awed smile lighting up her face as she took in the packed arena all around her. She'd just finished a song, one of her earlier singles, and the crowd was still on a high. The curtains closed over the changing set behind her and the last few piano bars tinkled to an end amidst deafening, frenzied screams, while cell phones and glow sticks lit up the night air with brilliant, shining color. The scene before her could only be described as magical and it rooted her to her spot.

She'd been on this tour, playing shows just like this for nearly two months, but this night was special. This night was her birthday and words escaped her as she stood in the middle of all her dreams come true. She could only take it all in, her lips quivering with the weight of unshed tears. This was everything she'd worked for—everything she'd sacrificed for—reflected in a sea of smiling faces all around her. It was definitely the best birthday present a girl could ask for.

She'd made it. That much was clear. Out of Rachel Berry's shadow. Out of small town Lima. Out of singing backup for people. She'd finally found her own star. She'd recently been nominated for a Grammy. She was on the verge of completing her first sold out world tour.

She was even about to release a duet with Adele as a song for an upcoming DC Comics film, in which Quvenzhané Wallis would play a young Supergirl. She giggled quietly to herself as she thought of Sam's reaction when she'd told him that news. They'd been excited about it for very different reasons and he hadn't been above tagging along to all of her meetings at the DC Comics offices and completely nerding out.

It'd been nearly two months since she'd been in the same room with Sam, however. She was off on tour and he hadn't been able to join because of work. They'd tried to make do with Skyping, but it definitely wasn't the same as having him with her. She'd also never spent a birthday without him—and while the ridiculously large arrangement of flowers and chocolate he'd sent her had had her smiling from ear to ear—she would have much preferred him to any gift he could give.

The continued screams around her pulled her back into the moment and she sighed contently as she smiled, waving at the crowd. Yes. She'd truly arrived, and in that moment, the realization of it left her humbled and speechless as she looked into the sea of people before her, all in various stages of losing their minds over her mere presence.

Only one thing could have made this moment better than it already was, but Mercedes tamped down that thought, determined not to let it bring her spirit down. Sam was a thousand miles away, and she missed him like crazy, but she was far too blessed to be sad. Besides, she'd see him soon enough, and once she did, another piece of her dream would fall into place. She rubbed her belly with a small, secret smile at the thought of it and pulled her focus back to her fans.

"I'm just standing up here in disbelief," she told them. "This is really a dream come true and you all are so amazing," she added, laughing when a group of fans in the front row pooled their voices together to scream out, "We love you, Mercedes!"

"I love you guys, too!" she answered immediately, then laughed when they all fell apart into frenzied screams once again. She waited until the crowd had quieted some to speak again.

"You know, I'm from a small town in Ohio, which I'm pretty sure has less people in it than are standing in this arena tonight," she said to a smattering of laughter from the crowd. "And all I had was this dream that I wasn't even sure could come true. I was so scared that I would fall flat on my face that I almost didn't even try at all." Thinking about those moments of insecurity and considering where she was now brought the sting of tears to her eyes.

She swallowed against the growing lump in her throat before adding, "Thank God I had someone there to help me realize that I could. I just had to believe in myself," she continued, smiling at the thought of Sam. At times, especially after she'd moved out to LA, he'd been the one to believe enough for both of them.

"Actually, what he said was, 'You ain't no skim milk baby. You're the cream risin' to the top,' but the gist was the same," she said dropping her voice a few octaves to try and sound like Sam, before giggling out the rest of her words. The crowd joined in her laughter and she shook her head with a fond smile. She loved that boy and she couldn't wait for what lied just ahead with him when she got back.

"The point is, he told me I'd see my name up in lights someday if I dared to dream it, and I did, and I want to thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for being a part of making my dream come true." Her fans had started to scream in encouragement, but she spoke up before they could get too loud. "Believe in yourselves," she told them. "Don't give up on your dreams. Hold on to them, work hard for them, and never let anyone tell you you're not good enough, or that you're not deserving because you are! Surround yourself with people who love you and believe in you just as much. I'm living proof that you can all rise up, too," she said to another round of deafening screams.

Again she laughed in disbelief and shook her head. Taking another moment to log this moment to her memory, she sighed and turned back to her musicians that stood behind her, to cue them for the next song.

At least, they _usually_ stood behind her, but not this time.

The curtain rose as she watched silently, revealing an almost empty stage. Mercedes looked around in confusion when she saw the vacated platform where her band usually sat, only noticing an acoustic guitar there now. Behind that guitar was an eerily familiar wall of lights arranged into the letters 'MJ'. She couldn't stop the tingles that went up her spine when that wall of lights arranged itself into her first name.

Behind her, the crowd went nuts, but Mercedes was working hard to control her heartbeat and hold back the flood of tears that was threatening. She knew the deja vu, the callback to all those years ago in McKinley's auditorium, wasn't a mere coincidence. This clearly had Sam written all over it, and she was about to lose her mind if what she thought was happening was actually about to happen.

It was a losing battle when, two seconds later, the curtains spread wider to reveal her band on either side, and the opening chords to Human Nature sounded throughout the arena. It was _definitely_ lost when Sam walked out onto the stage after that, a simple, mischievous smile spread across his face . Immediately, her hands flew up to her face, and then she was crying as she rushed forward.

It was a good thing the musicians kept the music going in the background, because Mercedes had forgotten all about the crowd. As soon as she got close enough to Sam, she was on him, hugging the life out of him amidst a crowd of 'awws' from the fans who knew all about Sam and actively 'shipped' them together. It'd taken a twenty minute lesson with Sam for her to even understand what that was, but she was glad for the support.

Mercedes had never been one for public displays of affection, but made the exception as she kissed Sam's lips for the first time in two months, trying to wrap her mind around what was happening. She didn't have time to think about it too much, however, as he pulled back and framed her face with his hands.

"Happy Birthday," he said to her with a smile. She could only nod and moved to bury her face into his chest as she continued to cry silently. It was only then that Sam seemed to notice the crowd and Mercedes heard him chuckle. "They are _loud_," he observed as he looked at them. She only nodded again as they kept right one screaming.

"I kind of made a scene, didn't I," he asked her and Mercedes pulled back to side-eye him.

"Like that wasn't what you were going for," she accused. He only smiled back knowingly, while she went in for another hug.

"Maybe a little bit," he admitted and Mercedes giggled against him.

The events after that passed in a bit of a blur for Mercedes, who was veritably high on life. She didn't want to let him go, but the show had to go on, and she finally did so reluctantly. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as Sam asked her to sing Human Nature with him, even as she scolded him for making her cry and _then_ asking her to sing.

The crowd got to see a whole different side of the diva during their performance. It was reprise of the one they'd done in high school. The couple traipsed around the stage, flirty in their singing and dancing, and ended with a kiss that sent the crowd into another uproar. They pulled out of it laughing at the crowd's reaction and then Sam made his exit, but not before affecting his Bane voice and telling the crowd he'd be right in the front row watching so they'd better be extra loud or else...

"He's a giant dork. Forgive him," Mercedes said, pushing him toward his spot, even as she giggled at his antics.

After that, Sam descended into a barricaded area just before the stage and watched the rest of the show from there. A seat had been provided for him, but it was ultimately in vain, as he proved himself a major distraction, bodyrolling his way through every song, cheering raucously after every performance, and popping back on stage after the encore with a small cake. He even sang her happy birthday, and Mercedes laughed heartily at the fawning 'awws' he received from his new fans for his behavior.

Before long, they found themselves back at the hotel, settling in for their own private celebration. Sam had gone all out, creating the perfect setting in the room. The soft glow of candlelight lit the room as they walked in and Mercedes smiled at the dinner for two that'd been set out, complete with champagne and cake. Mercedes gasped as she saw the set-up—more because she was touched than anything else. Really, by now, she should have learned not to expect less from Sam. She stood for a moment taking it in, simply adding it to night of memories she'd already had. She'd surely never forget it.

Turning back to him, she smiled at him fondly before rising up on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, baby," she said, with a contented sigh. Sometimes there just weren't more words than that. He only smiled before grabbing her hand and leading her to the table.

The night passed in a comfort and familiarity that Mercedes had been missing. Many times throughout the course of dinner, as they talked about the simple things of home, traded anecdotes about their time apart, and joked about things that had happened at the show, Mercedes couldn't get over how much she'd needed this. She couldn't imagine that she'd thought she'd be waiting another week to see him, when now that she had him back, she couldn't fathom how she'd gone two months without him. There was just something about him that exuded that feeling that she was home. It didn't matter where they actually were, he just made her feel like she had everything she needed.

She found herself smiling fondly at the engagement ring on her finger, counting her blessings. Her thoughts drifted to her happy little secret growing inside of her. She'd planned to tell him all about when she'd gotten back to LA the next week, but looking at Sam now, feeling as good as she did about everything, she knew there was no time like the present.

As if on cue, he prodded her about her still full champagne glass. "You didn't drink any," he observed. "Come on, drink up. It's a celebration. I even splurged on the real expensive French stuff I can't pronounce. We're gonna get real tipsy and dance the night away."

Mercedes shook her head, smiling at him. "I can't," she said quietly. Sam looked at her with a confused pout, but before he could think about it too hard, she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the bedroom. "I have a surprise for you."

"Yes, please!" Sam said excitedly. "Skipping straight to the good stuff. I like you. I like you a lot," he told her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and making it difficult for her to keep her forward progression as he turned his face to kiss her neck.

"Hold your horses," she said with a giggle, angling her neck away from his greedy lips.

He wasn't deterred and switched his focus to her shoulder, making Mercedes laugh. "It's been two months, baby. Two very long months. Those horses are long gone."

"Well, find them," she said turning and putting her hand over his searching lips. "It's not that kind of surprise."

She laughed outright at the way his eager expression fell, but turned again and kept walking to the room. She could hear him shuffling himself along behind her.

He perked up when she opened her suitcase and started to search through the things inside it, pulling out a slinky nighty she'd brought with her but never wore in the process.

"It _is_ that kind of surprise!" he exclaimed, but it was short lived as she cast the garment aside and kept moving things around.

Finally, she came up with the box she'd been searching for and pulled it out. Bringing the gift over to Sam, she sat on the bed and pulled his hand to bring him down across from her.

Sam looked at her, confused. "'Cedes, it's your birthday. This is not how the gift giving works."

She giggled at his words, but shook her head. "It's a gift for both of us," she told him. "I was gonna give it to you when I got back to LA next week, but you're here and I couldn't wait any longer, so..." She shoved the box into his hand and giggled nervously when he looked over her face for a few moments before opening it.

"Well it's a huge box, so I already love it," Sam joked, but Mercedes was past the point of being able to laugh lightly.

She watched, rapt as he pulled out the first item in the box, the actual test Mercedes had taken a few weeks before. It was capped, of course, and she'd placed a bow right around the screen that proudly declared 'PREGNANT'. Sam held the test with shaking hands, gasping when he saw it.

"Baby," he said, overwhelmed as he looked up at her. Tears clouded his eyes, but through them, his face held the biggest smile.

"Oh my God," he added at the sight of the next item, a picture frame with two slots. One said 'Coming Soon' and held a picture of Mercedes' first ultrasound inside of it. The other said 'Just Arrived' and sat blank waiting for the first picture of a baby boy or girl that would arrive in nine months. He was crying in earnest by now and Mercedes joined him. "You're serious? This...we're gonna...?" Sam couldn't finish at thought as he looked back up at her. Mercedes could only nod as she continued crying and Sam pulled her to him, hugging her close to him for a moment.

"There's more," she urged after a bit and he pulled back, looking at her fondly, before he placed a soft kiss on her lips. They were both crying messes, but Mercedes figured, in this instance, it was allowed.

Sam opened the last of the gifts, a package of onesies, all featuring his favorite superheroes. She saw the smile on his face grow wider and he struggled to stay in place as he went through each one. Batman, Robin, Superman got his shoulders shaking, but he was full on dancing by the time he got to the one that said Lil' Captain America. When he saw the one with Darth Vader on it that said, 'My Daddy Dresses Me', Mercedes was powerless to stop her laughter at the loud whoop Sam let out as he stood up and started featuring some of his best moves. His hips were going, and before long, she'd been chosen as a dance partner to the song in Sam's head.

They were well into their third twirl before he stopped abruptly and placed his hands on her belly.

"I'm sorry. I got excited. I didn't mean to hurt—" he started but she cut him off.

"You didn't. The baby isn't gonna like, pop out, if you jostle me a little. I'm fine," she assured him.

He only nodded and stood back looking at her for a while. "We're gonna do this? We're starting our brood?"

Mercedes expression went from fond smiles to an alarmed stares in seconds. "I don't know about a brood, but we're definitely having one."

"For now," Sam said teasingly. "Little Luke Skywalker or little Whitney Aretha."

"Oh no..." Mercedes said, shaking her head. She made to start an argument with him, but Sam pressed his lips against hers, rubbing his hand over her belly, and started to push her back onto the bed.

"We'll talk about it later," he decided. He had other plans for now.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is the second half to Chapter 50: New. Felt like the world needed some fluff today. Leave me reviews please? Love y'all! :) I'm starting to miss the kiddies, so I already started working on a new update. I'll probably post it next week. Baby Cam will be back for that one. :)**


	57. Mama's Day

It was Mercedes' fourth Mother's Day celebration, and her boys had gone above and beyond to make it a special one. Cameron had gotten the day off to an early and teary start when he'd excitedly burst in at the crack of dawn, jumped into his parents' bed, and startled his mother awake with the biggest hug and kiss he could muster. Mercedes' first view that mother's day was her four-year old's eager smile as he sat back on her chest and shoved a card he'd made in pre-school in her face.

"Happy Mama's Day, mommy," he told her loudly, with a bright smile.

It was a moment before she could stop laughing. She carefully moved Cameron back a few paces to her lap so she could sit up. "Thank you, baby boy," she told him with a hug and kiss before pulling back to look at the card. She'd just gotten it open, when Sam's voice sounded from the door.

"Someone's excited he was born," he joked. "I heard him running across the hall from downstairs."

Mercedes laughed, but her expression turned into a fond scrunch of her face when she noticed the tray full of delicious breakfast foods he carried. She also noticed the hour and the fact that he was still in his pajamas which meant he'd gotten up extra early to make it. He set the tray down next to her, giving her a soft peck on her lips. "Happy Mother's day, baby," he wished, and he would have kissed her again, but Cameron had grown impatient and shoved his card between their faces.

Sam laughed as he went to lie down on his side of the bed again, yawning as he bunched his pillow up in his arms and laid his head on it. He watched with a content smile as Mercedes started to read Cameron's card. Instead of the usual two page card, Cameron's had five additional flaps, and each one had an illustrated reason why his momma was the very best.

"To Mommy, I love you because...," the cover proudly proclaimed in Cameron's big crayoned handwriting. Around it were heart-shaped flowers in all sorts of different colors. Mercedes was already tearing up and rolled her eyes when Sam teased her.

"You haven't even read anything yet," he told her.

"He loves me, okay? Leave me alone," Mercedes replied. At Sam's snort, she added, "Oh, like you didn't die when he made you that picture frame last year." Sam only smiled sheepishly while Mercedes pointedly looked at said frame sitting on Sam's nightstand.

The frame was in the shape of Cameron's handprint and had a picture of him and Sam from the day Cameron was born inside of it. In it, Sam was holding his son for the first time. His eyes were closed as he deposited a kiss to his baby's head. He was also clearly in tears, and he'd been in tears the Father's Day Cameron presented him with the frame. He knew he had no room to talk.

Mercedes had moved on to reading the rest of her card, pulling Cameron closer to her as she did. "I love you because...you read to me," she read aloud. Above the words was what Mercedes guessed was Cameron's crayon depiction of her reading to him. She smiled as she went on. "I love you because...you sing to me."

She placed her chin on Cameron's neck, hiding her welling tears from Sam. "I love you...because you hug me. I love you...because you tickle me. I love you...because you love me." Mercedes was a goner by this point and had no hope of hiding her tears. They streamed down her face and she didn't try to stop them. She merely turned her head to give Cameron another kiss on his cheek before finishing her card.

"I love you...because you make really good cookies," she said, and then promptly fell apart laughing.

Sam chuckled from his spot beside her. "Of course that's in there," he said poking his son in the belly. Cameron squealed and kicked out, knocking his mother's juice from her breakfast tray onto the bedspread.

"Uh oh," he said with wide panicked eyes as he watched the glass of orange juice wobble and fall.

Sam immediately sat up and removed the tray, placing it on his nightstand. The guilty look on Cameron's face was heartbreaking. His ears had turned bright red and he hung his head. "It's my bad, little man," Sam said climbing back into bed. Cameron was ridiculously ticklish and flying limbs were a known hazard. He squeezed Cameron's shoulders in reassurance, but the four-year old didn't look up.

"Hey, it's okay," Mercedes reassured him. "It was an accident. Accidents just happen."

"But I mess up your Mama's Day," he told her with a pout.

She laughed at him calling it Mama's Day again and shook her head. "No, you didn't. It's just a little spilled juice, baby. I can get more. And you made me this beautiful card. You _made_ my day. You didn't mess it up." She punctuated this with another kiss to his cheek and he seemed to accept this.

She went back to the card, reading the last frame. "I love you...because you're the best mommy," she read, smiling at the picture he'd drawn of him and her hugging in front of what she guessed was supposed to be their house. He'd drawn the house a lot smaller than either of them. Sam was also in the picture, but he'd gotten left out of the hugfest.

Mercedes burst out laughing at the odd looking lumps on the arms Cameron had drawn for Sam. "What are those?" she asked her son, before holding it out for Sam to see.

"That's for his muscles 'cause he's strong," Cameron said seriously, and both of his parents nodded solemnly, trying not to laugh.

"You hear that, 'Cedes," Sam teased. "I'm strong."

"Why don't you use those lumpy muscles of yours to bring that tray back over here," she replied with a bright smile.

Sam snorted, but did as he was told and the three of them enjoyed a lazy morning, all of them having a bit of Mercedes' breakfast in bed. After that, they made calls to Mercedes' mom and then Sam's mom before moving on to all the assorted aunts and friends.

It was mid-morning by the time they decided to venture into other parts of the house. Mercedes had been smiling all morning and it only got wider throughout the day with gift deliveries from their parents, Tina and Mike, Kurt, Mercedes' label, and a whole host of other friends and family.

Sam and Cameron made sure that smile was indelible with a slew of gifts of their own, including a disc-shaped pendant with Cameron's name engraved on the front and his fingerprint pressed into the back. She'd gotten flowers and perfume as well and still had a whole half day left of surprises with her boys. She couldn't have wiped the smile away if she tried.

Cameron watched each flower delivery go by with interest, but seemed to be more concerned with the baskets of chocolate covered fruit. Mercedes let him indulge in a few more than she would usually let him because it was her special day...and lived to regret it when he made his sugared up self a nuisance all over the house, climbing furniture, singing at the top of his lungs, tugging at her and Sam every few seconds, and just jumping all over the place when he ran out of ways to let loose.

It was a relief when they finally let him go out to play in the yard, hoping the space out there would calm him down. Mercedes and Sam stood watch at the kitchen window.

"Are you happy?" Sam asked with a smile as he sidled up in front of his wife. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her away from the vase of flowers she was currently rearranging. She'd gotten so many, she needed to consolidate. Sam pulled her closer to him and she went willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You don't even have to ask," she replied, though the huge smile that'd been on her face all day would have sufficed to that end.

"Good," he said softly, but the emotion in his eyes was strong and unmoving. "I love you so much," he told her after a moment.

"I love you," Mercedes answered back, just as unwavering.

"You're an amazing wife and an incredible mother to our son. He's so lucky he gets to grow up knowing your love," Sam told her and only smiled when her eyes welled up with a fresh round of tears." She ducked her head shyly to hide her smile. Sam was having none of it, and lifted her gaze back to his. "I couldn't have done this with anyone else, baby. I'm so blessed and I have you to thank for all of it," he told her. "Your love saved me once. I'm a better man because of it and our son is so blessed he gets to know it unconditionally. He's going to be the most amazing little human because he has the best mom anyone could ask for."

"Don't sell yourself short," she told him with a watery smile. "You're a pretty amazing dad. He's just as lucky to have you. I know I am." The kiss they shared after that was inevitable, a sweet show of their love for each other. Mercedes pulled out of it and hugged him closer to her, still needing to feel him. Turning her head to the window she looked out on their son playing near the flower beds, and sighed contentedly.

"You guys spoiled me," she observed quietly, thinking about the events of the day so far.

Indeed they had. "And we're only halfway through the day," Sam teased. "I got way more in store for you," he promised in a low whisper and Mercedes smiled wider, which she hadn't thought possible.

"Like what?" she asked with a giggle, pulling back to look at him.

Sam only smiled and shrugged innocently. He had dinner with Mike and Tina planned, and more gifts, like the new dress and heels she'd be wearing to dinner, and the little show he and Mike had put together with the boys to entertain the moms after dinner. The girls didn't know anything about it. Sam couldn't wait.

"Like...surprises," Sam said, closing the gap between their lips with another sweet kiss to stop her protests.

He nearly choked on his laughter when he pulled back and saw his son standing there, holding a definite surprise.

"What?" Mercedes asked, following her husband's line of sight.

"Oh God," she said with a giggle. "Hi, Cam. What you got there?"

"Flowers," he said simply. He proudly held up the flowers and handed them to Mercedes. They looked awfully familiar.

"They're beautiful," Mercedes said. "Where'd you get them, baby?"

"Outside," Cameron informed her. The clumps of soil from her flower beds were still attached to them and they wobbled precariously before they fell onto the floor in showers of dirt. Mercedes merely pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh before taking them from him.

"Thanks, baby," she said. "I love them so much, but you know, mommy has so many flowers in here. I think I need to leave some outside, don't you think?" Cameron looked around at all the flowers she'd been trying to consolidate and agreed.

"Wanna help me put these back? The dirt's good for them. Helps them grow strong. We can water them, too," she suggested eagerly.

Cameron fell for it at the thought of getting to play with the watering can. He loved that thing. He grabbed the flowers back from his mom and led the way with a smile. Mercedes watched him run out before looking back to Sam and laughing in disbelief.

Like...surprises indeed.

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><p><strong>AN: A little late, but I was inspired. Happy belated Mama's Day to all the mommies out there! Please leave me a review! :)**


	58. Cool as a Cucumber

"...so then, your mom got on the phone and we were talking about how it's been a while since she's been out here," Mercedes said. She passed the plate she'd just gotten through washing over to Sam to be dried.

"Uh huh," Sam said, absently taking the plate, skipping the drying, and placing the dripping object on the counter. His gaze was firmly trained on the security monitor, just to the left of them, sitting on the window sill.

Mercedes shook her head as she watched him. Drying was his _only_ job, but his mind was clearly elsewhere and had been all evening. Mercedes knew exactly why, too, and she had to bite back a giggle at the state he was in. Earlier that night, Lilliana had headed off to her first solo school dance, and as expected, her dad was more than bent out of shape about it.

She'd come home last month practically bursting at the seams in her excitement to go. Mercedes and Cameron had been bursting at the seams for a whole different reason, laughing heartily as Sam's face had gone through several brilliant colors on the spectrum before settling on a sickly green at the idea.

As Lilly had explained, the event would be aptly themed 'Young Hollywood', where the elite of Beverly Hills' children that all went to Lilly's school, would spend the evening in gowns and tuxes, hobnobbing with each other like their parents did at all the events and parties _they_ attended. It wasn't highly original, but Mercedes had figured it was harmless.

In her opinion, it was a cute sixth grade affair that would allow her baby girl to get all dolled up and have a fun night with her friends. In Sam's opinion, it was the apocalypse and the devil himself would reincarnate as a twelve year old boy destined to get his hands on their daughter.

She _had_ finally convinced Sam to agree to it, however, which was no easy task, as he'd been prepared for a hard and final 'no' right at the dinner table.

_"You can't say no," she'd informed him that night as she turned down the bed, nearly laughing at the 'why the hell not' look he gave her in response. "Don't look at me like that," she told him, rolling her eyes. "You had no problem with Cameron going to his, remember?"_

_Sam's pout told her he did. Mercedes hadn't wanted Cameron to go then, but Sam had been the one to convince her. "It's just to the school, 'Cede. And he's going with Tyler. He can take care of himself for a few hours," he'd told her. She was more than happy to throw that in his face now and smiled toothily at him._

_Sam didn't like it one bit. "That's not the same thing," he tried and looked away when his wife side-eyed him._

_"Oh, of course not," Mercedes said, rolling her eyes again as she put away the last of the cushions and climbed into her side of the bed. "I mean, everything is exactly the same, but she's your baby girl so, I guess a double standard is in order."_

_Sam pinched the bridge of his nose as he stood staring at her, before dropping himself forlornly into bed, face first into his pillow. He made sure to groan and kick his feet against the bed for good measure. He hated when she was right. Mercedes watched his grown ass man tantrum, shaking her head in amusement as he stewed._

_"You can't keep her in a bubble for life, Sam. It's not fair," she told him._

_"Only until she's like twenty-five or so," Sam joked, muttering into his pillow._

_He turned too look at her when she said nothing and found her staring blankly at him._

_"I'm not trying to keep her in a bubble," Sam defended._

_"You're not?" Mercedes asked in a monotone._

_"I'm not, no," Sam said in the same tone and shook his head for emphasis._

_"Need I remind you that the last conversation you had with your daughter about boys, you told her Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the only boy she'd ever need because he would fill her heart with gladness?" Mercedes asked._

_"Was I wrong in saying that?" Sam asked seriously. "And that's not entirely true. I told her the Pope, too...and the Apostles, except not that Judas one, though."_

_"Sam!" Mercedes said in exasperation._

_"What?" Sam whined, dropping his face into his pillow again and Mercedes shook her head at how knotted up he was over this._

_"She can be a little nutty—with us for parents, it's not entirely surprising—but, for the most part, she's got a good head on her shoulders. She's shown us with school and all of her other activities that she can be responsible. She's earned this. She's got to live and learn. She's got to have the chance to be her own person and let loose with her friends. Cameron did. I did. You did," she pointed out after he'd gone a long while without speaking._

_He turned to look at her at that and she internally acknowledged her relief. She'd begun to worry about his breathing with his head buried in the pillow as it had been. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of," he told her. _

_"What is?" Mercedes asked, not following._

_"The letting loose. I was a mess at her age. The things I was thinking—oh God," Sam lamented. He closed his eyes again, as if the horror of his twelve year old thoughts was simply unbearable, and dropped his face back into the pillow._

_Mercedes burst out laughing at him. "I'm just gonna go out on a limb and suggest that Lilly probably isn't thinking whatever pervy, twelve-year old you was thinking," Mercedes informed him, giggling._

_"It's not her I'm worried about," Sam replied, his response muffled by the pillow he refused to lift his head from. "And who said anything about being pervy?" he asked accusatorially._

_"25 years of marriage said," Mercedes teased and squealed when he lifted out of his fog to tickle her. _

_Straddling her thighs, he pinned her hands back above her head with one hand. "Take it back," he said, hovering above her. He wiggled the fingers of his free hand threateningly for her to see._

_Mercedes merely raised a challenging eyebrow. "Just last night when you came to bed, I asked you how it went with helping Lilly do her math homework. Do you remember what you said?" she asked him. Sam's eyes widened in amusement, knowing he was caught. Mercedes dropped her voice a few octaves to imitate the sleazy tone he'd taken on the night before. "Do you wanna do math, baby? Let's add the bed, subtract your clothes, divide your legs, and multiply."_

_For his part, Sam actually looked sheepish, but promptly fell out laughing. His chuckles overwhelmed him and he fell against her. "Ugh," Mercedes said, rolling her eyes at him, though her accompanying giggles said she was kind of amused. She pushed his laughing body away from her and sat up, shaking her head at him._

_Even though it'd happened twenty-four hours ago, she couldn't resist side-eyeing him again—especially as he seemed so tickled himself now._

_"I was just borrowing a gem of the many from Puckasaurus' Language of Lady Love," Sam informed her, not even able to finish the sentence without dissolving into another fit of laughter._

_"Please be kidding," Mercedes said pulling a face at him._

_Sam only kept on laughing and Mercedes shook her head. That's what she got for letting her impressionable husband out for weekly bro-nights with Puck and Mike—where the slogan was: 'Go hard or go home', to which Sam had once meekly amended (receiving some strong side-eye from Puck), "But not too hard, because eventually, we do need to go home."_

_"Anyway," Mercedes said, shaking her head after a moment. Sam had long since stopped chuckling and was back to wallowing into his pillow. Mercedes took pity on how hard he was taking all of this and rubbed a gentle hand along his back. "Lilly isn't even taking a date," she cajoled. "She's going with Sophia and a group of their friends."_

_"To a dance filled with horny teenaged boys trying to let loose and live and learn," he said, using her words against her._

_"Sam, there are chaperones for just that reason," Mercedes reminded him, yawning now. She lowered herself from her sitting position onto her pillow, but turned to look at him. His face was still buried in his pillow._

_"There were chaperones at our proms, too," he told her, lifting his face briefly to give her a pointed look before returning it to the pillow._

_It was Mercedes' turn to look sheepish. That first prom had been innocent enough, but their next two—particularly in his senior year when she'd come back to Lima and surprised a gloomy Sam there…_

_She took a deep breath before deflecting, happy he wasn't looking at her, because the blushing face was out in full force. "She's twelve, Sam. We're not even talking about prom. We're not talking about star-crossed lovers and all that. There's not even a boy. It's just a night with her friends. A few hours in the school gym."_

_Sam honest to goodness whined and Mercedes would have smiled if not for the humongous yawn that bubbled out of her at that moment. She was tired. Sam was going to need to wrap up this tantrum soon._

_"I just want to protect her," Sam pouted._

_"You want to protect her because you love her. You're her father. I get it. But you can't deny her a life. You can't protect her by keeping her from experiencing anything," Mercedes told him._

_"Stop making sense," he whined and she laughed, rubbing her hand along his back again._

_"It's not fair to say no, and you know it," Mercedes told him and Sam looked at her, sighing resignedly. "She'll go to the dance," Mercedes told him, wanting to hash out how this would work now that she'd worn him down. "She'll be responsible. She'll have a blast and thank us for being cool parents. She'll be home by curfew," Mercedes said._

_Sam merely sighed again. "She'll call me every hour."_

_"She'll text," Mercedes amended._

_"And I'll drive her to and from," Sam added._

_"Cameron will. He wants to be here to see her all dolled up," Mercedes corrected, knowing Sam would spend the trip to lecturing and the trip back interrogating if given the chance._

_"Let me have something," Sam whined, looking at her accusatorially. _

_"You get a quiet evening in with me," Mercedes told him. "...and possible sexual favors," she added a moment later._

_Sam's expression perked up immediately and he'd all but forgotten his woes as he decided to collect an advance on that particular end of the deal._

They were back in full force tonight, however. Mercedes had definitely expected Sam would freak out, he _was_ Sam Evans after all, but Sam had gotten progressively ridiculous over the course of the evening. He'd started with an odd wondering here and there in the first few hours—_what would Lilly have been doing about now_—but that had turned into frustrated sighs and crazed pacing by the living room window whenever the grandfather clock in the room reminded him of the hour. He'd even gone outside to check if Cameron's car was coming up the drive.

Mercedes had spent the evening giggling at how utterly lost he was with worry, but she understood him, too. She worried about Lilliana, too. It was hard not being there to make sure she was alright, but Lilliana wasn't a baby anymore. She was coming into her own more and more everyday, needing them to handle her affairs and watch over her less and less. She needed the taste of independence, and if she was responsible as she'd been, it wasn't fair to take things like this away from her.

Mercedes remembered _her_ strict upbringing. She was almost off to college before she'd been able to do half the things other kids at McKinley got to do. Her dad had been the overprotective one, wanting to have a say on her every move. Nights out with her friends required weeks of notice and orchestration between her and Tina to come to fruition. Sam knew first hand, too. In their time together, her dad always seemed to pop up out of the blue, eyeing them suspiciously. She almost always had to scheme to spend any time alone with him. Mercedes had hated it and she'd vowed never to do the same to her kids.

She'd struggled, but always managed to come around with Cameron. Sam could do the same with Lilly.

She figured it was slightly worse for Sam, though. His job allowed him to work from home a lot of the time, so he was usually the one to stay home with her—and the frequent pictures or video he'd send her throughout the day let her know that he and Lilly had their own little world when they were together. If ever there was a daddy's girl, Lilly was it and sometimes it was hard for Sam to see her as anything else but his baby even if she was growing into quite the young woman. She had a great role model, after all.

Sam would practice new impressions and their little girl would giggle through every single one like it was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. She'd done it all her life, starting out with simple gummy grins as a baby, to full on joining in his antics as she started to get older. She did a fantastic Lisa Simpson to his Homer that always had their friends in stitches. He would sing to her and she'd smile and dance with every note, sometimes even joining him, though she was shy about her singing voice. She sang beautifully, but she only ever let them hear it around the house. She much preferred dancing. He'd play with her and she'd shower him with smiles, hugs, and kisses that warmed his heart. They were two peas in a pod, the ultimate partners in crime—Sam and his baby girl.

Mercedes understood how he felt, but it didn't mean she couldn't laugh at him. She bit back another chuckle as she continued with what she'd been saying.

"So, your mom's gonna come out with Stacey in a few weeks," Mercedes said.

"Uh huh," Sam responded, not noticing how his wife stood silently laughing at him. His gaze was still trained on the security monitor. Lilly's eleven o'clock curfew was coming up and Lilliana was due home any moment.

"I told her I wasn't going to be here, though," Mercedes said, giggling when she received another absent, "Uh huh."

"Yeah, I met this really cute dancer at the auditions for my video last week so we're gonna head to Santa Monica for a romantic weekend on the beach. No big deal," she added.

"Uh hu—wait, what?" he said, his gaze finally turned away from the monitor with a snap of his head in her direction.

"I told your mom we could head to Santa Monica for a relaxing family weekend on the beach when she comes out here," Mercedes said innocently, holding back a smile.

Sam looked at her, narrowing his eyes skeptically, but said nothing. He nodded after a moment and turned his gaze back to the monitor just as the Cameron's car appeared.

Mercedes expected him to head for the front porch, but laughed when he headed into the living room instead and turned on the television—the picture of calm and collected. Mercedes eyed him, shaking her head, but didn't have time to tease him as their children walked through the door a moment later—Lilly practically bouncing into the room.

Mercedes smiled as she looked at her daughter's happy face, thinking back to the moments before the dance, when she'd gotten to style her daughter's hair, do her make-up, and enjoy a mother-daughter moment she'd dreamed about all of her life.

Lilly flung herself at her mom in a hug and Cameron laughed as he leaned down to kiss his mom hello above her.

"Guess I don't even need to ask if you had a good time," Mercedes told Lilly who only smiled wider.

"It was a lot of fun," the little girl commented, pulling out the iPod she'd taken to the dance to show Mercedes the pictures she'd taken with her friends. "Everyone really liked my hair and the dress we chose," she told her mom excitedly. As she regaled Mercedes with the details of a night well spent with her friends, Cameron went over to Sam.

"Been sitting here all night have you, dad?" He asked with a knowing smile as he sat next to his dad on the couch. "Cool as a cucumber."

"Sure have," Sam answered, not looking away from the television. He was in no mood for Cameron's antics tonight. "How'd the driving go?"

"It was good once I tuned out the giggling and chattering about Next Direction," Cameron said, grimacing at the new boyband Lilly and her friends were obsessed with.

"Good," Sam said, turning his attention as Lilly moved toward him with a smile. He took in her big hug and kiss on the cheek with a smile.

He expected her to pull away again after a moment, but smiled in surprise when she said, "Thanks for being cool, dad." Mercedes eyed him, but said nothing. She wouldn't ruin moment by babbling about just how uncool he'd been all night.

Lilly pulled out her iPod scrolling through the pictures to show her father and Sam started to breathe a sigh of relief as he looked through the harmless pictures of Lilly in her beautiful dress with all of her girlfriends. She looked so happy and she'd come home in one piece. Sam was starting to feel better about the whole thing.

"Show him the one when that one guy kissed you," Cameron said to his sister suddenly.

Instantly Sam's good feeling was gone. His head snapped to Cameron immediately and his face started it's transition to tomato red as he looked back to Lilly who stared at him in wide-eyed confusion.

"No one kissed me," she said while Sam struggled to breathe. "What are you talking about?" She looked to her dad who was pinching the bridge of his noes. "I didn't—daddy—I didn't—mommy, no one kissed me!"

"Yes, that older guy did. Gimme," Cameron said snatching the iPod from Lilly's hand and starting to scroll through her pictures of the night.

"What. guy?" Sam said slowly, clearly about to lose it. "An older guy? Mercedes. See?"

"Daddy, no one kissed me, I swear," Lilly said, getting more upset by the second. "Cameron!" she yelled, looking at her brother angrily. "What are you doing?"

"Oh my God," Sam said standing up. He paced, not knowing what to do with himself. "I knew it. Oh God. Kissing. An older guy," he was muttering as he followed the same path from the couch to the window. "How much older?" Sam asked.

"Dude's like my age," Cameron said absently, still scrolling.

"What?" Sam looked positively green as he wheezed at that information. Cameron and Lilly were twelve entire years apart.

All the while Cameron scrolled quietly through Lilly's pictures while Lilly tried to explain to Mercedes that there was no guy. Mercedes in turn tried to calm her husband.

"Oh, here!" Cameron explained, holding up the iPod. Sam stopped his pacing to look and was treated to the sight of a picture of Cameron giving his little sister a kiss on the cheek before she went off to her dance.

Sam stood staring for a long moment while Mercedes and Lilly let out a breath and rolled their eyes. Mercedes only grabbed her daughter's hand before snatching the iPod from her son.

"Goodnight," she announced to the room before she and Lilly headed off for some girl time while she removed Lilly's make-up and took care of the dress.

"What happened to cool as a cucumber?" Cameron asked as Sam advanced on him. "That was a good place. You should channel that peaceful energy. Aaaaah! Dad, aaaah! I'm sorry."

Mercedes rolled her eyes as she and Lilly took the stairs and heard Cameron screaming bloody murder as Sam chased him around the room.

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><p><strong>AN: Hahahaha. Cameron's gonna get it. I hoped y'all liked it. Someone reviewed and said they missed older Cam and another person gave me a prompt like this. This is what my brain thought up, I hope it was good. Please leave me reviews! Love reading them and I promise to be better about writing back! :)**


	59. Our Story

**A/N: I've had the idea to do something like this for a while but could never get it going. This came together in the last couple of hours. It's a bit disjointed and wanders plot-wise, I guess, but I think that's true to life. How many topics of conversation do you get to when you're just sitting around with people for hours? Lol. Or maybe that's just me and my friends and family. Ha! Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy.**

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><p>The late June evening somehow found the entire Evans clan piled into the master bedroom, on Sam and Mercedes' ultra king-sized bed. They were each involved in their own task, unwinding from a day that had been busy—excessively so.<p>

They'd all been pulled in different directions—Mercedes having spent most of her day between the studio and her label's headquarters, hammering out the last few things for her upcoming album's release, while Sam had only just come home from a week-long, out-of-town business trip that evening.

Cameron had spent the day in school and followed that up with hours of soccer practice—and with the championships coming up, it'd been grueling. Even Lilliana had dealt with a full day, the six-year old attending both her cooking class—which had their culminating tasting event happening in the next few weeks—and her ballet class—that was practicing for an upcoming recital.

After dealing with the stresses of the day, coming home had been a blessing. As they hadn't seen each other all day—or all week, in Sam's case—the inclination to occupy the same space, was a natural one.

While Mercedes checked email—laid out on her stomach, eyes glued to her laptop—Sam, whose head had made a pillow of his wife's butt, watched an astronomy documentary he'd missed during the week. As for Cameron, soccer practice had knocked the juice right out of him. He lay quietly snoozing next to his mom while Lilliana lay near Sam, creating masterpieces with a coloring kit she'd picked out on a recent trip to the art store with her dad.

As families went, theirs was as tight knit as it got, and they needed the closeness—even if they weren't doing the same thing.

"Hey babe," Mercedes called out to Sam a bit absently, never taking her eyes away from the laptop out in front of her. She was intently perusing an email full of dresses she'd just received from her assistant. Her album release party was coming up really soon and she wanted an outfit that would slay and stun into silence.

"Hmm?" Sam answered just as absently, enthralled as he watched a black hole destroy a star on the show he was watching. "So cool," he whispered to no one in particular.

"What do you think of yellow?" Mercedes asked, angling her head as she considered a particular golden yellow gown.

Sam took his attention away from his show for a brief second, looking to her in hopes that she'd hook him up with some parameters. "Like...the song?" he asked, a little bewildered, when she didn't elaborate.

"No, the color," Mercedes clarified, with a snort. "Like, for a dress," she added.

"Oh, uh, it's bright," Sam commented, sounding more like he was asking a question. He shrugged a little and turned his attention back to the television. He never really knew what to say when Mercedes would ask him about things like this.

"You think I'd look like a banana?" she asked seriously and Sam wasn't about to walk into that one. He huffed out a laugh and looked to her again.

"You'd be a beautiful banana, in any case," he commented, smiling wide when she turned to shoot him a 'what are you even saying' look.

"I'm being serious," she whined, even as she giggled at him. "I need to look good for this event."

"Well, you don't really have a problem there," Sam answered smoothly. "You'd be beautiful in anything—even banana yellow." He winked at her and chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

"Do you like this dress?" she pressed, shifting to give him a look at the computer screen. She smiled when Lilly's eyes eagerly look toward the screen. The little girl abandoned her drawing and moved closer to her mom.

Sam sighed. "I don't know anything about dresses, babe," he told her.

"Well, you've seen me in plenty of them," she replied. "Do you think this would look good on me?"

"I think everything looks good on you," Sam answered, laughing again when Mercedes groaned in frustration and turned back to the computer screen. In the silence, Lilly immediately began to chatter about the pretty dresses.

Sam really wasn't kidding, though. She could roll up to the event in sweats and he'd still want all over her, so what she wore never really mattered. He tried to explain that to her.

"Seriously, Mercedes," he said with another sigh as he turned back to the television. "You always look amazing at every event. So, if banana yellow is your choice, go for it. I'm sure me and the rest of the world will have to pick our jaws up off the floor as usual."

He caught the way she turned to look at him in his peripheral and looked back to find her flashing him a fond grin. "Sweet talker," she said and he winked in response. "You're lucky there are kids in here," she added.

Sam perked at that. "That can change very quickly," he informed her. "Bedtime, y'all," he called to the kids and she shook her head at him, laughing when Lilliana looked up from the computer screen, confused, and Cameron sat up and looked around blearily.

"You're a mess," Mercedes told him. "He's kidding," she added to the kids and Sam laughed, turning back to his show.

Cameron narrowed his eyes at his dad, but he was too sleepy to think of anything smart to say and simply laid back down trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Why don't you call it a night, little man," Mercedes said softly, looking worriedly at her son. He wasn't so little anymore, taller than her now at eighteen, but he'd always be her little man.

Cameron groaned and shook his head. "If I sleep now, I'll be up at two AM, ready to go. I'm just wiped from practice."

Mercedes nodded, reaching a hand to run her fingers gently over his hair, before turning back to the computer and Lilly, who started chattering about her day at school. Apparently staring at the gowns had triggered that her teacher was due to get married after school ended in a few weeks, and she regaled the room with details about the woman's life.

"I'm never getting married," Lilly announced, and all eyes in the room shifted to her.

"Why's that?" Mercedes asked at the same time that Sam fist-pumped into the air above him and said, "Amen!" Cameron who was lying idly staring at the ceiling burst out laughing at his dad.

Mercedes side-eyed Sam, but didn't have time to say anything as Lilly started to explain.

"Miss May says you get married when you love a person—like she loves the boy she's marryin'. I don't love any boys," Lilly answered and the elation on Sam's face was enough to make Mercedes laugh out. "Except daddy and Cameron and Uncle Mike and Tyler."

"Well, you don't have to get married if you don't want to, but you never know," Mercedes spoke up when her giggles had stopped. "You might meet someone one day like I met your daddy and want to love them."

Cameron looked to his dad immediately and started laughing at the glare he was sending his mom. Sam's side-eye was strong and Mercedes didn't dare to look at him.

"When did you love each other?" Lilliana asked her parents.

"How do you mean? Like, when we knew?" Mercedes asked.

Lilliana nodded. "Yeah. Miss May said she loved her fi-fi-fin…" she looked to her mom for help.

"Fiancé?" Mercedes provided and Lilly grinned, nodding gratefully.

"Faun-say," she Lilly continued and no one had the heart to correct her. Cameron merely chuckled. "She said she loved him from when she was little and up through her life and now they can get married."

"You mean she met him when she was a kid," Mercedes asked and Lilly nodded.

"Well your dad and I didn't meet until we were about Cameron's age—a little younger," Mercedes explained. "We met singing in the Glee club. We told you about Glee club, right?"

Lilly nodded. "Did you loved each other?" she questioned.

"Not at first," Mercedes started, but Sam piped up.

"I beg to differ," he announced and Mercedes looked at him confused. "Don't let your mom confuse you," he told Lilly with an air of swagger. Mercedes rolled her eyes. "She was putty from the moment she laid eyes on me," Sam informed her.

"I was not," Mercedes protested.

"Uhm, were too!" he argued. Turning to Lilly, he said, "I smiled at her and she ducked her head to hide her smile." He imitated what Mercedes had done that day and Lilliana giggled.

"How could you even tell? You were like forty feet away," Mercedes said, laughing.

Sam merely looked up and gave her the same smile he'd given her all those years ago, nose scrunch and all and Mercedes ducked all over again.

Both kids burst into fits of laughter along with their father and Mercedes rolled her eyes even as she smiled.

"So that's when you loved each other?" Lilly asked.

"No," Mercedes answered. "That wasn't until later. Daddy and I weren't really friends at first."

"Why?" Lilliana asked, looking between them as if she were offended by the fact.

"I guess we just weren't ready for each other yet," Mercedes said with a shrug. "And your daddy wanted to be Justin Bieber so that was kind of a problem," Mercedes said in a mock whisper that made everyone laugh.

Cameron gave his father the ultimate judging look, but Sam couldn't deny the truth. He had wanted to be Justin Bieber, and he'd a totally skewed perception of what was important. He definitely hadn't been ready for Mercedes.

"When were you ready?" Lilly asked, not willing to stop her questioning until she had all her answers.

"Well," Mercedes said slowly, "Poppa and Nana were going through a really hard time. They lost their jobs and it was hard for them to get by with your daddy and Uncle Stevie and Aunt Stacey." She stopped there, not wanting to delve into the whole story. Lilly was only six and wouldn't really get the specifics and the entire thing put a far away look in Sam's eyes that she hated.

Lilly's expression drooped with worry. Mercedes watched as Sam adjusted, moving closer to all of them. He pulled Lilly into his lap and Mercedes quirked her lips at him, placing a hand on his knee.

"But your daddy was really strong and he got a job to help them out and I started helping out, too, babysitting your uncle Stevie and Stacey," Mercedes said. "We got to be friends, and we went to prom together and realized we really like each other," she added, skipping over the part about calling him a homewrecker before she'd found out what was actually going on and meekly going over to the motel to ask for forgiveness with bags of her brother's old clothes and some food.

"So then you loved each other?" Lilly asked, she was clinging to Sam now, still dealing with the part about his family going through a hard time.

Mercedes looked to Sam who smiled at her. "We definitely started to," she said turning back to Lilly. "But then, your daddy had to move away because Poppa got a job in Kentucky."

"Did you go, too?" Lilly asked, her eyes were wide—crestfallen.

"No. I couldn't go, too. I had to stay with my family. So, I had to let daddy go," Mercedes answered. "So, he moved away to Kentucky and I stayed in Ohio."

Lilliana gasped in horror.

"Relax, Lilly Bean," Sam said, laughing at the look on his little girl's face. He placed a soothing kiss on her forehead. "I came back," he told her.

"Clearly," Cameron provided. "Given that we're all here and Lilly and I exist," he added and Mercedes laughed.

"So, then you loved each other when daddy came back?" Lilly asked again and Mercedes sighed before she shook her head. For her part, Lilly looked unamused that they hadn't yet gotten to the part where the lovefest started.

"Well, I came back," Sam started, "because I missed your mommy a lot and it was hard for me to be without her—but she liked someone else at the time and she didn't want me."

"You didn't want daddy?" Lilly asked her mother. Stink-eye was an understatement. Lilly stared at Mercedes like she'd lost a whole jar of marbles.

"He wasn't your daddy then," Mercedes replied and then just decided to give up that route. Once again, Lilly wouldn't be able to wrap her brain around it. "It's not that I didn't want him. I still liked him, but I was confused," she defended.

"Why?" Lilly asked and they all laughed at the put-out look on her face. Her daddy was better than all the boys in the world put together and that was all she knew.

"I didn't know he was going to come back," Mercedes started to explain.

"But he did!" Lilly answered. "And he missed you! And you liked him! Why were you confused?"

Mercedes blew out a breath looking to Sam for help.

"It was more complicated than that, Lilly," Sam said and Mercedes nodded, grateful. "Mommy needed time to figure out how she felt about everything. I came back kind of all of a sudden."

Lilly still didn't look like she understood. In her head, these were her parents, and she couldn't wrap her mind around a time where they hadn't been as in love as they were now.

"One day when you're older we'll talk about this again," Mercedes told her daughter. "I promise you, but for now, just know that I needed to work some things out and I wasn't ready to be with your dad, yet."

Lilly stayed quiet and leaned her head against her father, thinking about what they'd told her. It was Cameron who piped up.

"Who did you like?" he asked his mom, intrigued.

"Oh, his name was Shane Tinsley," Mercedes said.

"Shane Tinsley?!" Cameron shrieked and Sam rolled his eyes. "New England Patriots Shane Tinsley? Won the Superbowl two times Shane Tinsley?!"

"Yes, that one. He went to our school," Mercedes said.

"He could have been my father," Cameron said with an air of forlornness and burst out laughing when Sam gave him the surliest look he'd ever seen in his life. "Relax, old man. I wouldn't trade you for the world."

Mercedes merely shook her head. "I ended things with him because I needed to think about things." Again she glossed over things that didn't need rehashing.

"Good call, mom," Cameron commented. "I don't even like the Patriots."

"Which is so not the point," Mercedes answered.

"Did you love daddy again when you weren't with Shane?" Lilly asked. She was still leaning on Sam and looked at Mercedes with a pout. Mercedes hated to do it, but she shook her head.

"I always loved your dad, Lilly, but we didn't get together like you think then," she explained to her daughter. Lilly sighed.

"I didn't give up, though," Sam spoke up after a moment. "I knew your mommy loved me, but she just needed time. I had a hard time understanding that at first," Sam admitted.

"A really hard time," Mercedes teased.

"What'd he do?" Cameron asked.

"What didn't he do was more like it," Mercedes said with a laugh and Cameron perked up. This he wanted to hear. "He joined the synchronized swimming team, he sang me lots of songs, walked me to classes, carried my books, bought me trinkets and treats, tried to start twitter trends in my honor," Mercedes said and Sam laughed remembering. He'd been so hung up, it wasn't even funny.

"What was he trying to trend?" Cameron asked already laughing.

"That I smelled good," Mercedes said and Cameron fell apart.

"What? You do," Sam defended, leaning in really close to sniff at her. She rolled her eyes and pushed him away, and the kids giggled.

"But anyway," Sam said returning to his previous thought. "I didn't give up, but I let her have her space for a while and she eventually figured it out and came back to me," he said with a smile.

"So then you got married like Miss May?" Lilly questioned eagerly, and Mercedes and Sam looked at each other, hating to dash her dreams again. Lilly just wanted to get to the part of the story where her OTP got together and she wasn't caring for all this confusion and angst in the meantime.

"No," Sam said, chuckling at Lilly's sigh.

"We were together. We went to prom together and we spent the summer together, but then mommy moved away to go to school," Sam explained.

"Wow," Cameron said from his spot. "Y'all just took your sweet time figuring yourselves out, didn't you?"

"We were in high school. Give us a break," Mercedes defended. "We stayed in touch. We still loved each other. It was just hard with us being so far away. I started working on my dream and your dad had to finish high school. We missed each other like crazy, but we couldn't just up on our lives."

Cameron nodded his understanding.

"All through senior year, I just thought about moving to LA to be with your mom. That was what got me by. I knew I just had to get through this one year and then we could finally have a real chance," Sam said.

"I went home for your dad's senior prom and surprised him and we talked about how much we loved and missed each other," Mercedes said, sharing a look with Sam. Actually there hadn't been much talking that prom night, but they'd shown it. The kids didn't have to know that, though.

"Then after your dad's graduation, I went back to Los Angeles," Mercedes said and Lilly sat up confused. So, did Cameron.

"You left again?" Cameron asked, just as enthralled as his sister. "But you just said…"

Mercedes laughed. "He followed me. I wasn't inside my apartment in LA for twenty minutes before the doorbell rang. I opened the door and there was your dad with two huge suitcases. He puts them down and just goes, "I love you. I don't even know how this is going to work and I probably should have thought about that before I came across the country, but I can't be without you anymore. When people are apart, time's supposed to make it hurt less, but with you, it only hurts more. It only gets worse every minute and I can't do it. It doesn't make sense."

"Aaah," Cameron said laying back down with a huge grin on his face, calm again. "The wooin' words." Mercedes and Sam both laughed. Cameron's eighteen years had made him much of aware of the wooin' words.

"Were you confused again this time?" Lilly asked suddenly, and Mercedes' eyes widened at her daughter's accusatory look. This little girl was something else.

"Sheesh, Lilliana. No, ma'am," Mercedes said poking the girl who just couldn't imagine anyone better than her father. Lilly giggled. "We were together after that. We loved each other. No one was confused. No one moved away."

"So, then you got married?" Lilly asked with a huge grin, ready for the finale.

"Not right away, bug," Sam told her. "There were things that needed to happen first. Daddy had to get a job and go to school and mommy had to finish school. A lot of grown up stuff that you'll learn about someday."

Lilliana pouted and her family laughed.

"We were together for a few years first," Mercedes added. "But we did, eventually get married," she told her daughter.

"Do you ever think about if it hadn't worked out," Cameron asked after a quiet moment. His parents looked at him. "Like if dad hadn't come back when he moved to Kentucky or if mom never left Shane or if mom never came to visit for prom and dad never followed to LA," he explained.

"No," Sam and Mercedes answered simultaneously.

"Any scenario where I wouldn't be with your mom doesn't make sense to me," Sam said, checking Mercedes' shoulder with his. She smiled.

"Ditto," Mercedes said. "This family is everything. A world without your dad, without you and your sister—not a world I'm interested in."

Sam put his arm around her then and she turned to find him staring at her with a look of pure adoration—one she knew was mirrored in her own expression. They kissed then, right over Lilly's head and the little girl giggled as she looked at her brother.

They were staring at each other longingly when they pulled back and definitely feeling Sam's week-long absence, particularly after all of this talking about their relationship and what it meant to them. They were both ready to move past the talking.

"Okay," Mercedes said turning to her kids with grin. "Bedtime, y'all," she told them and Sam laughed at her echoing his earlier words.

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><p><strong>AN: I got this just think about when my parents told me their story. I shipped my mom and dad as hardcore as Lilly does her parents and I wasn't here for them ever having been in a relationship with anyone else when they told me. Couldn't get my mind around it. Hope you liked lol. Please leave me a review! :)**

**And omg! I just passed the 1,000 review mark with the last chapter. Hard to believe what this fic has become from where it started! You guys have been so amazing and encouraging and I'm glad I got to share this story with you all this time! :)**


	60. Keep Your Head Up

Attending _The New York Summer Arts Academy_ had been Lilliana's idea. She'd been excited to extreme levels of giddy, _begging_ her parents to go when some of her other friends at school had started to buzz about it. _It'd be like a months-long sleepover_, she'd thought. She'd get to live amongst friends, attend arts classes, and perform in recitals and shows all summer long. She'd get to be just like her brother was at college for a couple of months, except without the boring work and crazy professors he always told her about. Plus, she'd get to be in New York and the thought had just _thrilled_ her.

Her parents had been hesitant when she'd brought it up that night at dinner, particularly her father who'd looked like a deer in headlights at the mere thought of his baby all those miles away. Her dad had been ready, poised to deliver an immediate no—their thirteen year old had _never_ been without one of her family members to watch over her, pretty much ever—but her mother slowed him down with a calming hand over his, suggesting they at least hear her out before making a final decision.

Although her grandfather came off as a big old softy now, Lilliana had sat through enough talks with her mom to know he hadn't always been. She knew how her mom had struggled for his support when it came to her life choices—how hard she'd had to fight him to go after her dreams—and she'd given her mom the most grateful smile for breaking the mold. She hadn't wasted the chance, either. She'd taken the time to make a good case for herself, explaining her reasons for wanting to go as thoroughly as she could.

She'd be delving into a highly creative environment, learning about music, dance, and art—things she knew her parents encouraged, as they grew up, lived, and worked within those circles now. Once she'd explained all the classes she could take, and how these would benefit her personal growth—it'd been an easier sell. Her dad had even cracked a small smile at the end of it, telling her he was proud of her putting such research and time into her decision.

She'd been like a hawk outside their bedroom door that entire night while they talked it over—finding reasons to walk back and forth passed the door, and picking up bits of the conversation along the way. It'd been mostly her dad freaking out about it and her mom reining him in like she tended to do when he got like this.

She'd Skyped Cameron when the pressure of waiting got to be too much. "How did mom take it?" Cameron had asked. He'd been clearly in the middle of dinner with friends, if the background where he sat was anything to go by, and Lilliana had made a note never to take his willingness to make time for her for granted.

She'd nervously explained how everything went down. She was dying to go and she knew a 'no' would devastate her.

"Well, I'd say you're golden if mom was down," Cameron had told her when she'd finished. Lilliana had given him a skeptical look and Cameron had just laughed. "You've much to learn young Padawan," he'd told her. "If mom's in, you're _in_. Trust me."

She'd still been skeptical, and it'd been a fitful night's sleep as her parents had never come out to give her a verdict. By breakfast, however, Lilliana had finally gotten what she wanted and Cameron had been proven right. The program was in New York, so her mother had arranged frequent check-ins from her uncle Kurt in the form of weekly meals and supervisory visits to her dorm—plus, it helped that the program was run by a friend of theirs who had also agreed to keep an eye on her.

She'd been downright giddy when they'd given their consent.

Now, however, she found herself sitting up in the dark, in the room that would be hers for the next two months, listening to the foreign sounds around her—the traffic and chatter far below. Lights out had been called an hour ago, and she'd hesitantly complied, but found sleep wasn't forthcoming. She couldn't stop herself from looking anxiously at her surroundings. Even with an afternoon of orientation activities and moving in—which her uncle Kurt had hijacked and turned into Extreme Makeover: Dorm Edition—to get used to everything, it all still seemed a bit overwhelming to her.

She'd expected a summer of discovery, newness, but, if she was being honest, it was all coming at her a little too quickly. New place, new people, new expectations—all in the space of mere hours. She sighed anxiously, thinking about it all, doubting she'd get a wink of sleep that night—which would suck, considering she already had a full day of classes the next day.

She'd always been sort of shy about performing—especially in the face of her show-stopping mother. She loved to sing and dance, but even though her parents never pressured her to be anything other than herself, others had a tendency to compare whatever she did to her mom—or her dad, depending on what she was doing. Nothing to them was ever on her own merit. If she sang a song, people would clamor to judge if she had what it took to be the next Mercy J. If she wrote or drew, the standard would be set by her dad.

Never just by herself. Never just Lilly.

She feared the same treatment here. She hadn't really thought about it before, but the thought of it filled her with panic. What if she wasn't good enough? What if she made a right fool of herself? What if she failed? What if this entire idea had been a huge mistake?

She took a deep breath, then swallowed around the lump that had built in her throat. She'd been itching to try something new, but in this moment, she would have done anything for some familiarity—_anything_ for one of Cameron's hugs while he told her a silly joke to make her smile; _anything_ to hear her mother's voice, singing to her softly while she ran her fingers through her hair; _anything_ to be held in her father's arms while he told her everything would be okay. Anything at all for that feeling of safety and protection she only got around her family.

She looked to the picture of them sitting on her nightstand and picked it up, running her fingers over their smiling faces. Her mom had asked a photographer friend to come in for some family portraits. She'd meant it to be traditional, but that had quickly dissolved into hijinks with Sam and Cameron unable to keep themselves together whenever they were in the same room and Lilliana and Mercedes eventually just giving up.

The shot she held now showcased that, with her and her mom smiling nicely for the camera while her brother and father held up bunny ears behind them, grinning like loons. It'd only been a day, but she missed them already.

Lilliana smiled tightly, tucking the frame against her as she finally lay back down, trying to blink back her tears. She wiped at the ones that managed to spill out with the sleeve of her oversized sweater, one she'd squirreled out of her mom's closet that still smelled like her mom's perfume, and tried to take a deep breath. Breaking out into sobs would only wake her roommates and she was in no mood to explain that she was just being a big, scared baby who missed her family. It'd been her idea to come out here anyway. She'd made a big fuss...and her Uncle Kurt had spent an inordinate amount of time turning her little corner of the room into what he called, dormitory chic. She couldn't exactly go running home with her tail tucked between her legs now, no matter how badly she wanted to.

She wished she could call home, but it was well passed lights out. Cell phones and internet were banned within the dorms, so she would have to wait until breakfast tomorrow. She sighed, wiping another tear from her eyes. Talking to her family would have done wonders right then.

A thought struck her a little while later as she struggled to take in even breaths. With ginger movements, careful not to disturb the silence of the room, she crept to the foot of her bed to take out her iPod nano. The lights from the lamp posts outside shone just bright enough for her to see around the space. She might not have been able to talk to her family right then, but she had plenty of video and songs she could use to get her through for the time being. The thought made her smile as she unzipped the pouch in her bag to retrieve it.

Her face scrunched when she noticed an envelope there that definitely hadn't been there when she'd done her final check at home. She sat at the edge of the bed, crossing her legs underneath her, and pulled it out with interest. Her smile was immediate when she noticed her nickname 'Lilly Bean' in her dad's scrawl across the lavender paper.

In moments she'd pulled out the card. "Guess what?" the front cover of the card read. Lilly's smile grew wider just looking at it. She flipped it open, having to muffle her giggle at the next page. "Chicken butt," it read. She shook her head, wiping another errant tear, but her expression was fond as she kept reading below it. "Bet you expected something mushy like, 'I love you.'" She nodded as if her dad could see her. "P.S. I love you." The card finished and Lilliana found herself beaming, though more tears slid down her face. These were of a different sort.

This was so like her dad. Still there, being her everything, even though he was miles and miles away. She directed her focus to his writing and couldn't wipe her smile away if she tried.

"_Hi Bean_," he wrote. "_You're probably like 'Daaaaaaad' right now and rolling your eyes because you've got better things to do with all your cool little friends and that's okay. This won't take long, I promise. I just wanted to wish you good luck on this new journey. It's a big step._

_Now, you're probably not like me. I'm sure you're over there ruling the roost or whatever, but I just remember the first time I went away with the boys scouts. I was so excited—until I got there and realized I was actually terrified. Luckily for me, my daddy left me a note just like this, and it made me feel better. Like home wasn't so far away._

_You're not at all the knucklehead that I was, so you probably don't need this, but I'll tell you anyway. He told me, "A bird in a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings." Thank God he went on to tell me what that meant because I had no idea what he was talking about at the time. Ha._

_What he meant, and the point I'm trying to make now (I swear I have one. I'm getting there. Patience, child.) is always believe in yourself, Bean. You already have everything it takes to succeed inside of you. Trust it and never give up, even if it takes you a few tries to get it right. And remember, what other people think isn't so important. People will always have something to say, but how you feel about yourself is all that really matters. It took me a while to learn that lesson, but I'll always be grateful I did._

_For what it's worth, though, I think you're about as awesome as they come and you'll knock 'em dead over there. Your mom thinks so, too. She's standing next to me cheering as I write this. Like, she literally just said, "That's right. That's my baby," out loud and we knocked fists in solidarity and all that. We're both so ridiculously proud of you and can't wait to see you in a few weeks for the Parents' Invitational._

_Work hard. Have fun. Be nice to people._

_And since I can't be there to tuck you in and tell you like I always do, you can simply read it here and know I mean it just as much: You're beautiful. You're smart. You're talented and your mom and I love you more than Batman loves his cave. Okay, fine…your mom says we actually love you more than I love Avatar. So, that's a lot of love._

_From, both of us._"

Lilliana read over the card a few times, smiling wider each time, and finding the panic that had left a tight feeling in her chest dissipating with every read-through. She had the best parents in the world and she made a note never to take that for granted. If they'd been there, she'd have tackled them with a hug, but now she settled on holding the card close to her. Grabbing her iPod, she carefully crawled back toward her spot and placed the picture back on her nightstand. She tucked the card under her pillow before settling back onto her bed and pulling her blanket over her.

Taking a moment to scroll her list of songs, she smiled when she found the one she wanted. Her mother's beautiful voice filled her ears with her dad playing guitar and harmonizing quietly, a lullaby she and Sam had written for Lilliana when she was a baby that had made it onto one of her albums as a hidden track. She closed her eyes letting their voices soothe her and within minutes she'd drifted into a peaceful slumber, once again looking forward to the next day.

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><p><strong>AN: This author's note is LONG, but you might still wanna read it all lol.**

**This began as a thought bubble on Father's Day and ended up here. I wanted to highlight Lilliana's relationship with her father, but also wanted Mercedes in there since the Mother's Day one-shot I did was all Cameron. Anyway, I hope I did a good job showing that strong, supportive relationship with her parents, and also her brother. I hope you enjoyed. Please review!**

**NOTE: The "Guess what? Chicken butt. Bet you expected something mushy like 'I love you. P.S. I love you." line is an actual Hallmark card. I saw it and thought it sounded like Sam so I went with it. Also the "bird in a tree" quote is not mine. I don't know who said it, but I had a poster with it up in my classroom this year and loved it. I thought it fit nicely here.**

**For those of you who saw my tumblr post, the other update I'm working on is still being written. I didn't get back to it today, but hope to be done with it by Sunday definitely. So, until then!**

**BONUS HEADCANON or whatever cause I didn't wanna actually write it out:**

When Sam and Mercedes come for the Parents' Invitational a few weeks later, Lilly's happy she stuck everything out, even though that first night was bumpy and scary for her. She's been going to dinners at her Uncle Kurt's every week where she gets to Skype with her parents and her brother and she feels better about everything now that she's settled. She gets along with her roommates really well and she's been having a ball with all her classes and putting her invitational performance together. She wants to kick ass because she wants to make her momma, who she's watched on stage all her life and who she wants to be just like, proud.

Sam, Mercedes, and Cameron fly out for the performance and they're like ridiculously giddy. Lilly hasn't done anything official publicly since ballet when she was a tot and random spontaneous things with her mom because she's been shy about it. So, this is their first chance to see her and see what she's been doing for the last few weeks. They've got flowers and everything.

They get to see her for like a second before the the show and she gives them that tackle hug she's been holding onto and then she's off. When she finally gets on stage, they're the typical embarrassing family and make way too much noise, but it turns into crying when Lilly goes into how she struggled that first night and how she'd wanted to go home, but then she'd found the card from her parents that reminded her that she could do anything she put her mind to and to just put her all into it and have fun. She very publicly thanks them and they very publicly bawl over it.

So then she does her performance. She got a whole bunch of her new buddies to help her with dance routines and stuff and does a crazy upbeat mashup of Keep Your Head Up by Andy Grammer and Skyscraper by Demi Lovato like literally giving it everything she has and she kills it. Windy City shows up in the dance routine and Mercedes has to keep Sam from joining and Lilly incorporates some of those famous runs she learned from her mom. She dedicates the whole thing to her family and there's more crying. And everyone hugs at the end and it's all very cute.

She gets to spend the weekend with them before they head back to LA, but they'll see each other again for the academy's culmination event the month after.

**So yeah! That's my headcanon lol. Please review! :)**


	61. Packing Tips

**A/N: First off, I want to thank everyone and anyone that nominated me for the Glee Fanfic Awards as best Family Fic Writer. It really made my day. Thanks so much! I've b****een absent a while, struggling on the whole inspiration front, truthfully, but I'm trying to get back. Hope you like this.**

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><p>Mercedes' response was an immediate groan as she walked into her bedroom, her eyes settling on the havoc Sam had managed to wreak in the space. She'd only been gone for thirty minutes, tasked with picking up the dry-cleaned suit he needed for his weekend-long trip the next day. In that time, Sam's <em>only<em> task had been to pack his bag_—_three shirts, three pants, three boxer-briefs, three pairs of socks, a pair of dress shoes, and some sneakers. _Maybe_ a jacket if it got chilly. Then, all the notes he needed for his pitch. Simple.

But Mercedes returned to absolute chaos. Their dresser had apparently exploded, clothes spilling out of the open drawers and onto every available surface of their room. Shoes lined up out of the closet, waiting to be picked. Caps, beanies, and sunglasses lay in a clearance-bin formation all over their bed. In the midst of it all sat Sam and his suitcase_—_and the only item he'd successfully managed to pack was his son. The ten-month old lay happily on his back inside the empty suitcase, giggling at his father while Sam held onto his socked feet, wiggling them as he playfully asked Cameron if he was going with him on his trip.

The sight would usually have drowned Mercedes in a flood of feels, but the state of her bedroom hindered the reaction. Her eyes practically twitched as she looked at the mess and her tone settled nicely between a whine and a scolding when she called out, "_Saaam_!"

Sam looked up with a start as he'd been too busy goofing off with his son and hadn't heard her come in. "What?" he asked in the most innocent tone he could manage. He knew _exactly_ what. He'd known he was in trouble the minute she called his name_—_it was only confirmed when he saw her face.

"Seriously?" Mercedes asked, coming closer. She stepped over a pair of flip flops lying on the ground as she moved towards them. Dropping his suit in a huff, adding it to the pile already on the bed, she asked, "I left thirty minutes ago and the only thing you've managed to pack is Cameron?"

"He said he wanted to go," Sam said seriously. Cameron didn't actually know any words, but when Mercedes was mad, it was best to just deflect with nonsense all the way to the death.

"And stuffing him inside your suitcase seemed like the best way to go about that?" Mercedes asked.

"He was helping me," Sam added as he picked up their son. "Right, munchkin?" he asked holding Cameron up. For his part, Cameron obliviously grinned at his mother's perturbed face, showing his four little teeth in the sweetest smile that Mercedes could only smile back at.

Sam watched as some of the annoyance melted away from his wife's countenance and silently swore to feed Cameron more of those fruit melts he loved in thanks. He figured he'd try his luck, too, and flashed his pearly whites at Mercedes as cutely as he could. Her reaction was a lot different this time, however. She rolled her eyes and pushed his entire face away with her hand before she walked off towards their closet.

Sam shrugged a little. It'd been worth the shot, he thought as he watched her go. He turned Cameron around in his lap as they faced a pile of shirts on the bed. "Which shirt should daddy wear?" he asked Cameron seriously before holding him closer to the clothes. At this point, he'd use any help he could get.

Cameron only babbled to himself as he looked at all of the colorful items before him. Soon, however, he extended a chubby little hand toward a red plaid shirt and picked it up, babbling louder as he waved it around.

"Yeah?" Sam asked, smiling widely. "This one? You like that shirt?"

Cameron didn't answer, bunching up the fabric in his hand for a moment longer, before he brought the shirt towards his mouth. Sam laughed, but stopped the progression, carefully pulling the item out of his son's grasp. "Shirts are for wearing, not for eating," he told his son solemnly before dropping the shirt into the suitcase.

Cameron lurched out after it, but Sam focused his attention on another pile. "How about pants, buddy? What pants should daddy wear?"

"Sam, you're not serious right now!" Mercedes said, coming back into the room. She folded her arms across the nightshirt she wore and watched him blankly. She'd been listening to the entire exchange from the closet.

"What?" Sam asked again, the picture of innocence, as Cameron picked out some basketball shorts this time. Again, the shorts followed a path to his mouth and Sam had to stop him before he succeeded. Cameron fussed this time as they were peeled away from him and dropped into the suitcase. Sam quieted him with an exaggerated kiss to his cheek that made him smile instead. Again, he flashed that smile straight at his mom.

Mercedes looked at both of them and laughed, despite her frustration. "You're gonna look real fly in some basketball shorts and plaid shirt, Sam," she said moving a pile of shirts over and sitting down on the bed with them.

"Cam's an original, right munchkin," he asked rubbing his nose lightly along Cameron's forehead. "Trendsetter."

In reply, Cameron sneezed, showering his father with baby spittle. Sam jumped back looking at him accusingly, just in time for Cameron to sneeze again. He blinked up at his father, seemingly surprised at the action, before he started laughing.

Both Mercedes and Sam laughed this time, looking at their son.

"You're so cute," Sam decided, smothering Cameron with kisses and Cameron responded by laughing himself silly.

Mercedes watched them, smiling despite herself. It was short-lived, however, as she glanced around the room.

"Ugh, I'm going crazy," she groaned, looking around. She attempted to drop herself back onto her pillows, but actually dropped onto a pile of Sam's caps and groaned louder. Sam, for his part, hadn't noticed as he currently held Cameron over another pile of shirts, asking him to pick one out. Cameron diligently reached for a bright orange Aquaman shirt and Sam smiled as she dropped it into the suitcase.

Mercedes laughed incredulously. "You're gonna look a mess."

"You mean amazing," he told her, even as he looked at the plaid shirt, Aquaman tee, and basketball shorts all clashing in his suitcase.

But it seemed Mercedes had had enough. She stood up and plucked Cameron out of his hands.

"Our son is not a prize claw," she informed him, pulling off Cameron's shirt.

"You better clean all this up by the time I'm through with his bath or you're about to spend the night in here by yourself," she told him, stepping over a pile of shoes in a huff, before disappearing inside the bathroom. Sam looked after her in alarm, but his response came out much cooler than he felt.

"Cameron will stay with me, then," he told her smugly, feigning nonchalance. He was about to leave for three days and damn well knew he wanted some alone time with his wife before he went.

Mercedes' response was an unconcerned snort. She didn't even turn back as she answered him. "My son is not sleeping on a pile of clothes. Thankfully Tornado Sam only hit this room, we'll find refuge elsewhere," she vowed. Sam's pout was instant.

In seconds, he resorted to the only thing left in his arsenal.

"_Help me_," Sam whined. "Seriously, 'Cedes, you know I can't pack."

She didn't answer for a moment, focused only on getting Cameron settled, but in a few moments she called out. "You _can_ pack. You just spazz halfway through it and do this every time because you don't want to," she pointed out.

Sam groaned, but Mercedes wasn't having it. "Seriously, Sam, get to it. Three shirts, three pants, three pairs of underwear, socks, and the shoes you wanna wear. And you don't need to worry about the soap and hair stuff. I got them all travel size for you when I was out this afternoon. Just put your clothes into your suitcase and clean up the room."

Cameron chose this moment to sneeze again, laughing once more at himself when he was finished. Mercedes laughed out. "Your father's a bigger baby than you," she told Cameron.

"I heard that," Sam called out to her.

"That was the point," Mercedes retorted and laughed to herself when she heard him grumbling under his breath in the room.

Big baby, she thought, shaking her head.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is the first LW I've actually managed to finish in a while. I have about eight at various points of doneness sitting in my drafts. I'm also working on an update to F&A. I'm trying. Slowly, but surely. Reviews would be much appreciated. I need the encouragement lol. Please?**


	62. Manic Monday

Sam let out a soft breath as he turned over in bed. He greeted the day with a satisfied groan as he languidly stretched out his arms, sighing contently at the pleasing pull on his muscles, and even smiling a little as he drew his arms back to his side. The feeling was short-lived, however, when his hand brushed over the cool sheets on Mercedes' side of the bed. He instantly looked over into the empty spot with a grouchy pout. _This was going to take some getting used to_, he thought, after the last month of ample time with her all to himself.

With her international tour wrapped up, Mercedes had indulged in a little, much-needed break before she headed back to the studio for her next project—a highly-anticipated, Troubletones-style EP that she was working on with Santana and Tina. She'd jumped back into the swing of things just that morning, heading to the studio for the first day of recording.

Sam missed her already, and he'd only been awake for three seconds.

Sighing again, he focused his thoughts on his day. He was actually doing most of his work from home these days, now that his graphic novels and the animated webisode series he'd created for them were actually starting to take off. He'd slacked a bit in the month Mercedes had been home, preferring to spend his days with her and their baby boy, enjoying being family. It'd been a blissful period that had spoiled them all rotten with time together, but now that all had to change.

As amazing as it'd been to snuggle to their hearts' content in the mornings with their son, head out to family outings around the city while Sam played paparazzi to capture his son's every new moment, or merely spend their days in reveling in the little family they finally were, the real world was knocking just outside the door. Mercedes had already answered the call and soon, Sam would have no choice but to follow her lead.

Sam still had a few days before he fully jumped back into his projects, but he still had things he needed to set up before that day arrived. He had some outlining to do as well as some changes to the animation of his next webisode that needed his attention. He knew he had to get a move on.

It didn't mean he couldn't wallow for just a _little_ bit more. He rolled over into Mercedes' space with a groan, burying his face in her pillow. Her scent immediately hit him, the lavender smell of her soap engulfing his senses. It was all he could do to pull himself away.

He had a day to get started with—particularly a baby boy to care for, and none of it would stop and wait for him to be ready.

As if on cue, Cameron's babbles sounded from his crib across the room, drawing Sam's gaze over in his direction. Cameron was already standing in his crib, smiling around his pacifier at his father, and that smile only grew wider as Sam sat up in bed, prepared to make his way over to his son. Sam couldn't help, but smile back.

Cameron let out an excited squeal as Sam stood up and Sam wondered just how long he'd been waiting to be released from the confines of his bed. Cameron didn't even wait for his dad to get near him before his arms were sticking straight up in a plea to be picked up. As soon as Sam got there, he obliged, picking up his baby and smiling at the pure delight in his son's eyes. Cameron had been part of their family for eighteen months now, but Sam would never tire of these moments.

"Morning, little man," he whispered into the baby's soft curls. Cameron didn't answer. He just kept smiling and rested his forehead against his dad's. Sam huffed out a soft laugh and walked back to the bed with his son. Cameron's babbles had stopped for the time being, his little fingers simply playing with his dad's ear as they crossed the room.

As soon as Sam put him down on the bed, Cameron crawled into the spot where Mercedes usually was, and pulled on his parents' discarded comforter. Mercedes was usually buried in it in the mornings this last month, but that wasn't the case today. Cameron let the pacifier drop from his mouth when his search for his mother came up empty. "Mama," he said, looking back to Sam, a confused pout scrunching his face.

"Uh oh," Sam said quietly, sensing trouble. He moved forward, sitting on the bed next to his son. "No mama today. Just you and daddy."

Cameron only stared at Sam, his pout firmly in place. "Mama," he said again, breaking his stare to look back toward Mercedes' empty spot on the bed. Cameron was used to his mama's morning cuddles everyday and not getting them apparently wasn't an ideal situation for the tot.

"Mama's at work today," Sam explained, closing a hand around Cameron's little foot and running his thumb along the sole. "You'll see her later."

"Mama," Cameron complained in a little whine, obviously not caring for Sam's explanations. His face started to crumple in the way it did when he was about to lose it. Sam had spent the last eighteen months getting well acquainted with that face. Cameron wanted his mama. _Now_.

Sam's eyes widened as he watched his son preparing to fall apart. "Oh, no. Buddy, mama's _working_," Sam said, moving forward and patting Cameron's arm in an effort to calm him. "We'll get to see her la—"

That was as much as he was able to say before Cameron's face crumpled completely. His crying started lowly, a weak bawl that went on for a few seconds before he had to take a breath. His eyes filled with tears in that while and he aimed his puppy dog eyes at his father.

Sam's eyes widened again. He knew what came after that breath. Cameron didn't disappoint as he wailed in earnest this time, a loud cry that took the breath right out of him, turning his face bright red. He took another breath, crying out, "Mama," one last time before he dropped himself back onto the bed hysterically.

"Aw, little man, it's okay," Sam consoled, picking up the fussy toddler. Truth be told, he understood. He missed her, too. If kicking and screaming about it wouldn't have been frowned upon because he was a grown ass man, he might have reacted the same way when he woke up that morning to find her gone. As it was, he rocked his son back and forth for a bit, putting the pacifier back in his mouth, and helping him quiet his cries, before he decided to take him downstairs for breakfast.

By mid-morning, Sam had tried everything to cheer up his son. He'd given him the banana Gerber he loved, complete with spoon plane delivery for every delicious bite. It'd managed to distract him some, drawing some reluctant smiles and giggles from the toddler, but it was only a little while before Cameron was back to being fussy.

He'd even been moody during his daily viewing of the Doodlebops and Cameron was _never_ moody for that. But Sam _had_ woken up many a morning over the last month to find Cameron and Mercedes full-fledged rocking out to the songs on the show. Cameron would dance and giggle with Mercedes right there encouraging him all the way, so Sam figured his son's demeanor had a lot to do with missing his mom. He sighed as he watched Cameron simply sit on the couch and stare quietly at the TV.

Walking through the bedroom for bath time had caused another stir, soon enough, as Cameron resumed his search for his mother, peering into the walk-in closet where she did tend to spend a lot of time. He'd put on the most heartbreaking pout Sam had ever seen when his search came up empty and screamed when Sam collected him for his bath.

He'd screamed through his entire bath time for good measure, fussed as Sam dressed him after, and had gone back to pouting when Sam put him in his playpen. In short, Cameron was far from his usual self that morning.

Sam tried to focus on some of the other things he needed to do, but couldn't help worrying about Cameron's behavior. He knew they all needed to get used to things, but maybe cold turkey hadn't been the way to go. A look over at Cameron, who was currently lying on his back and waving his Captain America doll listlessly above him, only confirmed the thought. Cameron was usually off the rails, running around the house like an Energizer bunny. That's what even made the playpen necessary. But _this_, Sam thought as he watched his son put down the toy and simply roll over on his side to idly play with the netting on his playpen, wasn't like him _at all_.

Watching Cameron a few more moments—the toddler's fingers simply running over the netting as he babbled quietly to himself—Sam's decision was made. He tried Mercedes' cell and sighed as it rang a few times and went to her voicemail. Trying his luck, he tried again, to no avail.

He wondered for a moment if he should just give up, but looked at his son again, who hadn't moved and merely grazed a finger along the netting while humming to himself, and just decided to act. He knew Mercedes was trying to get back into the swing of things, but a lunchtime visit wouldn't hurt.

In moments, he'd gotten his son strapped in to the carseat which only made him fussier. The pacifier helped, however, and so did Captain America, keeping Cameron quiet as Sam climbed into the driver's seat of his car and pulled off. All along the way, he played some of Mercedes' songs hoping her voice would start to bring Cameron out of his funk. Cameron loved to sing and dance and usually would babble along as he bounced in his seat. Sam smiled a bit sadly as he checked through the rear view, only to find Cameron staring out the window, clutching Captain America as he watched the scenery pass.

Finding a parking spot not too far from the downtown building that housed Mercedes' studio was a miracle and Sam whooped in triumph as he pulled in just as another car pulled away. He looked back to find Cameron looking out at the traffic on the street with interest and smiled. It seemed things were finally taking a turn for the better. Sam silently praised his own idea.

Cameron seemed to perk up at the change in scenery as Sam unbuckled him from his car seat a little while later. He smiled a little as he pointed out the passing cars to his dad and made Sam laugh as he waved at passerbys while they walked toward a little sandwich shop that he and Mercedes loved, not too far from the studio.

Sam ducked into the shop, warmly greeting the shop owner who knew him well by now. Cameron didn't disappoint, politely waving at the woman, making her smile. Sam put in a quick lunch order as he held Cameron close, making him giggle with raspberry kisses all over his face and funny faces as they waited. Finally, Sam was seeing the liveliness in his son that he was used to and it made him smile.

In no time, they were off, headed a few buildings up the street to the studio and Sam slowed slightly as he caught sight of paparazzi outside. To say Mercedes' EP with Tina and Santana had the world abuzz was an understatement. The girls had all managed to make big things happen for themselves in their careers—Mercedes and Tina were already household names in the music industry, having made big strides in the Pop/R&B and Indie genres. Santana had made a name for herself in the fashion industry, first as a model, and then as a designer. No one had really known she could sing. It'd been a surprise to the media and mainstream consumers when news of her teaming up with Mercedes and Tina surfaced—and they'd gone _crazy_, speculating about what this new venture amongst the three would turn up.

Thus, the paparazzi weren't an entirely unexpected presence outside the studio, but Sam still bristled as he walked up. Still, they noticed him quickly and Sam tightened his hold on Cameron as they started shouting out questions at him. Sam's face was nowhere near as known as his wife's, he mainly worked behind the scenes, but people _did_ know him, especially in Los Angeles where he and Mercedes were often spotted out together.

"Sam," they called as he walked by. Sam gave them a polite smile in return, but took longer strides, clutching his son. Normally, if he was alone, he wouldn't care, but he wasn't too keen on the idea of Cameron's face plastered inside of a magazine for anyone in the world to see. Though, Cameron didn't seem to mind at all, his eyes openly peeled on the men as he watched them curiously.

"Have you heard the new songs yet?" they asked.

"They just started recording today," Sam answered quietly, "But I'm sure they'll be amazing."

"Are you gonna sing on the record, too?" another one yelled. It wouldn't have been the first time Sam had featured on one of Mercedes' albums. On her second album, they'd done a duet, and he'd been recruited for some guitar playing on a few other tracks here and there.

"Nah, I'm just here for lunch, man," Sam answered with a slight chuckle, steadily making his way up the street.

"What are you eating?" one shouted, and Sam laughed as he shook his head. For what possible reason would they need to know that?

"Can you give us a smile for the camera," another one of them yelled.

Sam was all set to decline, wanting to get inside as soon as he could, but Cameron was already a step ahead him. Charming and trusting as ever, Cameron waved to the paparazzi offering them his toothiest grin. Sam merely chuckled before bringing his hand over Cameron's cheek and shielding his son's face from the unwanted pictures. He brought Cameron's face into his neck and distracted him from fussing about it with another raspberry kiss.

"Y'all got a cute kid," one of the men shouted out after him. "Is there a little sister in the works?"

Sam laughed out loud, but gave no answer as he continued walking into the building and out of sight.

* * *

><p>"I wonder just how many pieces that phone would smash into if I threw it out the window," Santana started, stopping Mercedes dead in her tracks. Mercedes pulled her hand away from the phone she'd been reaching for and turned back to her friend, whose tone had been a matter of fact. Santana didn't stir, simply staring back at Mercedes blankly. Tina sat nearby staring between them.<p>

"I was just gonna—" Mercedes started, but Santana cut her off abruptly.

"I think like maybe three hundred or four," Santana said shortly, then rolled her eyes at the pout Mercedes shot her. "That look only works on people who make a habit of giving a damn. I am not the one," she informed Mercedes, who only sighed and dropped herself onto the couch in return.

It'd been like this all morning. The separation anxiety had steadily built from the moment she woke up and was near overwhelming by the time she'd gotten all dressed to leave. In fact, that's why she hadn't woken up either Sam or Cameron, fearing that she'd change her mind if she had to say goodbye to them. She felt silly—she was only going off to the studio for the day—but it was still hard to let go of the routines to which she'd grown accustomed. It was hard to go from full-time mommy and wife, there for every little thing, to suddenly being ridiculously busy with other people and tasks all day.

She'd ultimately managed to make it to the studio, but she'd been entirely distracted all morning. She missed them already, unable to stop herself from wondering what they were getting up to, how the day was going, what they ate, what funny thing had Cameron done, how his nap was...

She sighed again as she crossed her arms over her torso, stubbornly looking away from Santana, who sat across from her.

"You realize you just left your house like three hours ago. Are you serious with that face right now?" Santana asked.

"Yes," Mercedes muttered sullenly. "I can't help it." Tina sighed, coming to sit next to Mercedes, rubbing her hand across her friend's back.

Santana looked at them and rolled her eyes. "You just spent the last month smothering each other," she started. The glare Mercedes shot her would have withered anyone else into ash, but Santana stared back undeterred. "What could you possibly have to say to each other after only three hours apart?"

"Lots." It was Tina who answered, scrolling through her own phone and ignoring Santana's glare.

"Like," Santana prompted.

"Like, how the morning was," Tina started and smiled at Mercedes' nod.

"Yeah," Mercedes agreed. "And how they slept and what they ate today..." Mercedes rattled off.

"Why do would you possibly need to know what they ate?" Santana asked, scrunching up her face in genuine confusion.

"I just do," Mercedes said succinctly.

"Besides, it's not a matter of what we say to each other," Tina defended. "It's just a matter of checking in, hearing their voices, knowing they're alright. Just sets the heart at ease." Mercedes beamed at her friend, happy to know at least one person understood her.

Santana's expression was the exact opposite, grimacing as if the contents of her stomach would come spilling out any minute.

"Married people are _actually_ gross," Santana decided matter-of-factly, and both Tina and Mercedes rolled their eyes at her.

"We'll see what you say when you find the right girl," Tina told her. Mercedes nodded her agreement.

"If I'm ever as drooly as the two of you over anyone, I'll just do myself a favor and find some traffic to play in," she informed them and then groaned as Tina just rolled her eyes and handed Mercedes her phone.

She was just about to protest when the doors of the room they were in creaked open behind her. Before she could even turn around, Mercedes had let out a huge squeal and was across the space in seconds. "Cammy!" she called out, and Cameron was in her arms in an instant, lurching out of Sam's arms so fast toward his mother. Sam was afraid he'd have dropped him had Mercedes been a second slower in catching him. He smiled in relief at the long-awaited reunion, laughing when Mercedes extended an arm to pull him in, too.

Santana turned to see Sam and Cameron in the doorway, returning Mercedes' excited hugs just as fiercely, and side-eyed the lot of them. Seriously, it'd only been three hours. The way they were going on you'd have thought one of them had been lost for years in the Sahara or something. "I might just go find that traffic now," she said to no one in particular, as Tina had joined the hugfest across the room, smothering her godson with kisses.

"I know y'all are busy," Sam was saying at the door. "I can go if we can't be here." His expression was apologetic, but Mercedes waved him off, pulling him by the hand, and moving with him into the room. Mercedes sat with Cameron next to a still perturbed Santana, but ignored her in favor of giving her son the cuddles they'd missed out on that morning.

"Cam woke up this morning and you weren't there, baby," Sam explained with a laugh, "and he just got so sad." Mercedes gasped a little at the news. "Aw," she started to say, wanting to tell him that she'd missed him, too, and how hard it'd been for her to leave, but Santana spoke up suddenly, effectively ruining the moment.

"Wait, I've heard this story before," she said, scrunching up her face, as if really trying to remember something. "Oh, I know," she said after a beat. "That's the story of your junior year, Trouty. Guess the apple really doesn't fall too far from the tree." At everyone's side-eye, she merely spread her lips into a tight smile and blinked.

"Wanna say hi to Santana, Cam," Mercedes said with a tight smile. "You can call her 'Auntie Scrooge'." For his part, Cameron stared curiously at Santana for a beat before looking back at his mom and saying, "No." While the rest of the room burst into laughter, Santana gave the baby the stink-eye.

Sam huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. Santana would always be Santana, but she might have just met her match in Cameron.

"I'm not gonna stick around too long. I know y'all are busy," Sam said after a moment, when they'd all calmed.

"That was the plan," Santana piped up and Tina elbowed her into silence again.

"I brought lunch," Sam said ignoring the interaction. "I figured we could eat. Cam could get his cuddles. Then Mike said I could drop Cam off with his grandma today so he'll get to play with Ty and stop pouting at me and we can all go back to trying to get some work done for the day? How's that sound?"

His proposal was accepted in seconds, even by Santana, mainly because she never said no to a meal, especially when it was free.

They ate together in peace, Santana giving Sam and Mercedes the stink eye as they fed little bites to each other here and there, but having been quieted by the food. She'd even made friends with Cameron throughout the course of the meal, because Cameron also never said no to food and sidled himself up to _anyone_ who would feed him a bite, and as Santana had some bright strawberries on her plate, she'd been chosen.

Sam, Mercedes, and Tina looked on, smiling knowingly at the pair as Santana broke off a piece of strawberry to feed to Cameron and the baby shamelessly smiled at her in thanks. Santana for all her bluster smiled right back. It only got brighter when Cameron politely said, "Ta you," his 18-month old version of thank you.

Sam gasped in mock-surprise. "Did y'all know she could smile?" he asked in wide-eyed sincerity and Santana rolled her eyes while Tina and Mercedes burst out laughing.

"Guess there is a heart in there somewhere," Tina said.

"I always thought she was powered by lumps of coal," Mercedes added and ducked when a strawberry came flying at her head.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Forgive any mistakes. I wrote this in spurts of free time and literally lacked the energy to edit lol. I hope it makes sense. I miss being able to write for this little fam and I miss all of you. Hopefully the next one won't be too far along, cause I have some other ones I've been writing in the same way and hope to finish soon. Please review! :)**


	63. None Shall Sleep

**A/N: I wrote this the other day while my students were napping and it took me all weekend to get around to typing up. I hope you enjoy. Cameron's voice is not one you wanna have in your head when you're supposed to be quiet, by the way. You'll see!**

* * *

><p>Sam sighed, then chuckled incredulously as Lilliana's eyes popped open and she threw a small gummy smile his way. He'd be lying if he said it hadn't melted his heart, but it was kind of the opposite of the effect he'd actually been going for. He'd been trying to get the four month old to sleep for the better part of the last hour—and that had been trying times to say the very least.<p>

Every time he thought he had her, her droopy eyes had only popped open a moment later, locking with his, and then that spark would be back in the form of a sweet smile that besotted and exasperated him all at once.

He'd carried her through the entire house at least twice, rocking her, humming an entire archive of lullabies—he'd even resorted to blowing softly at her eyes in a failed attempt to get her to close them. She'd only taken the action as a game and smiled at him some more.

He'd put her in her swing. He'd swaddled her. He'd lied down with her on his chest. In short, nothing had worked, and Sam was officially at the end of his rope as he stared at his daughter. She let out another tired yawn, but still refused to sleep as her gaze landed on him yet again a moment later.

She might have been smiling now, but Sam new what came if she missed her nap. It'd start with mere fussiness about every little thing and slowly escalate to impossible crankiness and screams until she exhausted herself. Plus, the later she fell asleep, the later she'd want to go back to sleep that evening. Both he and Mercedes would most-likely fall victim to a three am wake-up call over the baby monitor, and though they loved their little bundle of joy, that'd be rough.

Sam stared at his daughter, desperately trying to think of something else he could do. Cameron hadn't been like this in the least. Cameron had been one baby who looked forward to his sleep. In fact, he and Mercedes had barely gotten to see Cameron's eye color in the first month of his life as he'd been content to fall right to sleep right after every breastfeeding and only wake up in time for the next.

Lilliana's personality was a bit more curious, and she stayed up, fighting her sleep so she could watch everything around her like a hawk—as if she'd miss out on the good stuff whenever she closed her eyes.

"I swear, it's gonna be a total snoozefest in here when you fall asleep, baby Bean," Sam promised his daughter, who only smiled again at the sound of his voice. "Why are you smiling," he asked, though he was smiling, too. "I'm serious," he added. "Daddy's just gonna draw...probably call up your momma at the studio and bug her for a little bit. You're not missing anything."

Lilliana was quiet for a beat, simply staring at her dad before she babbled and kicked her little socked feet out toward him. Sam sighed and grabbed hold of one, laughing when the contact made her smile again. He couldn't resist and reached her for, pulling her out of her swing, and brought her closer to him so he could kiss her cheek. He closed his eyes and ran his nose along her soft curly hair, smiling as the soft smell of her baby shampoo and powder hit him.

He pulled back to look at her, a miniature version of her mother, and it occurred to him again just how enamored and in love he was this little person—even if she was driving him crazy at the moment. From her sable brown curls, to her big doe eyes, to her button nose, to her pudgy cheeks, to her pouty lips, all the way on to her ten little fingers and toes, he was a goner.

He'd been having that realization at least ten times a day for the last four months of her life, and he'd since come to accept the fact that it would probably never stop. It still hadn't for her brother before her—or their mother before either of them.

Pressing a kiss to the side of Lilliana's hair, Sam stood up with her again. He gently shifted her so her head lay on his arm and pressed her pacifier into her mouth once again. Softly, he swayed with her all over the living room, humming all the way. At first Lilliana stared at him wide-eyed, occasionally smiling around her pacifier, but Sam was the one smiling when she let out a huge yawn and blinked her eyelids droopily.

He'd gotten her to this point before and hoped this time would be the charm. Fixing her pacifier back into her mouth, he hummed and swayed some more, even adding in some of the patting that always seemed to sooth her.

He wanted to cheer when her eyes drooped all the way shut, and nearly did, but thought better of it and settled for a silent, celebratory fist pump into the air. He held her for a moment longer to make sure she'd drifted before crossing the room and lowering her into her bassinet.

At this precise moment, deafening roar of, "For Narnia and for Aslan!" sounded at the top of the stairs, startling the life out of Sam. He looked toward the noise and stood mouth agape as Cameron came sliding down the banister, still screaming bloody murder, with a screaming Tyler in tow. The two had said they'd be in Sam's office watching a movie. Sam was now very clear on which one.

"Oh hey, dad," Cameron said with a smile, hopping down from the banister and making his way toward Sam. At that same moment Lilliana let out a whiny cry from the bassinet and Sam looked to see her pouting up at him, eyes wide open.

He looked back to the two boys who were now obliviously horsing around, trying to see which one could do the best Aslan roar. Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to scold, but he'd have been the biggest hypocrite ever. Cameron got it from somewhere—and it definitely wasn't Mercedes. Sam sighed.

"What's wrong?" Cameron and Tyler asked in unison, having finished roaring for the moment. They did that a lot. They weren't actually twins, but still had some creepy twin tendencies that freaked out their parents.

"You woke up your sister," Sam said and Lilliana punctuated that thought with another whiny bawl.

The two immediately looked sorry and made their way to the bassinet and looked in on the little girl, who smiled when she saw them. "Hi, Lills," Cameron said softly tickling the little girl. "Did we wake you up making noise like a lion?" he asked. He roared softly this time, and Lilliana let out a small giggle.

Sam shook his head. She was going to be awake forever.

He watched in surprise, however, as Cameron picked her up and put the pacifier back in her mouth before kissing her cheek. Tyler, in turn, laid her blanket out on the carpet before Cameron lowered her onto it. Tyler quickly tucked in the ends for a perfect swaddle, then brought her over to her swing where he chose the second speed that rocked her slowly to and fro. Cameron clicked through the programmed music until he settled on a soft classical song. Then, they both sat by the swing, Tyler with his hand on her belly to let her know they were still there, and Cameron rubbing his finger softly between her eyes.

In minutes, Lilliana had fallen back asleep, and Tyler stood up, while Cameron still sat for a minute with his sister. "Sorry about that," Tyler told his uncle. "We got a bit carried away with the movie."

Sam was still speechless, stuck on the fact that the two twelve year olds had managed to do in minutes, what he'd tried to do for an hour. Where had they even learned all that? He asked as much and Cameron stood up with swagger.

"Because I'm the _boss, _like _Rick Ross_," he offered up and arrogantly, complete with an exaggerated chuckle that ended abruptly when Tyler smacked his arm. Sam let out a bark of laughter and rolled his eyes. Who even was this kid?

Cameron opened his eyes and looked at his friend. Rolling his eyes, he looked to his dad, "Mom and aunt Tina made us watch a bunch of videos," he admitted.

Before Sam could say anything further, though, Cameron was pulling his best friend into the kitchen to make Pizza Rolls before the next movie. The two were arguing the whole way.

"'I'm the boss?'" Tyler asked. "You couldn't just say you watched the video from the start?" Tyler asked.

"Where's the fun in that? Live a little Ty!" Cameron said.

"I live! I live a lot!" Tyler defended. "But seriously, no one should talk as much as you do."

"If we all talked as much as you did, the whole world would be a monastery," Cameron retorted.

"If the whole world was a monastery you'd actually die," Tyler replied.

Cameron looked to his friend for a moment before he burst out laughing. "That's probably true," he said through his chuckles as he opened both sides of the fridge.

"Ooh, Pizza Rolls!" Tyler yelled. "Let's make that then go watch Back to the Future!"

Cameron turned to his friend with a smile. "You're a genius, my friend," he said, holding out his hand for the highest of fives. Tyler enthusiastically delivered, and so was the end of the argument.

Sam just shook his head and laughed, not even bothering to get in the middle of that one. This wasn't even the strangest of what he'd seen from those two knuckleheads.

Checking on his daughter one last time, he smiled at her even breaths and retreated a ways from her on the couch and picked up his cell phone, speed-dialing Mercedes' number immediately, laughing when she picked up the phone and greeted him in a random exaggerated British accent, "'Ello Dahling!"

"'Ello, love," he returned without even thinking and smiled at her giggle before she asked him about their day so far.

He was _definitely_ a goner over this bunch, he thought with a fond smile, before saying out loud, "You will not believe what your son just said to me!"

"Uh oh..." Mercedes said with a wary chuckle and settled in to hear what promised to be a great story. Anything with Cameron always was.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Cameron is a mess, but I love the kid (even though he's fictional.) Ha! Okay, I'll stop. Please review?! :)**


	64. Playing Hooky

Mercedes found her attention drifting as she sat in some swanky restaurant over a lunch meeting with her manager, Clare, and her personal assistant, Ann. They were meant to be going over her schedule for the next few weeks—interview this, photo shoot that, recording session here, publicity event there...

Mercedes knew she should focus—that these things were definitely important to supporting her career—but she couldn't help her thoughts from wandering. She had a new album coming out soon and she'd been promoting non-stop, everyday filled to the brim with events, appearances, and whatever else her team had booked.

It was good to be busy, she knew. It meant people cared and were interested in her, but it also meant she'd only seen her family in short glimpses. Quick hellos and kisses as she rushed in and out of their home, off to this place and that, to spend time with everyone else in the world, it seemed.

She was blessed, and she _was_ grateful, but it didn't mean she didn't miss her family dearly and, on this particular day, the separation from them grew a bit overwhelming, slowly but surely seeping into the forefront of her mind, and leaving little room for anything else.

Rather than the interview her Clare had scheduled with ELLE, she was thinking about Sam, her husband, whom she'd actually had to pencil in to a dinner date at the end of the week because she'd been so busy. Rather than her photo shoot with Essence, she was thinking about Cameron, her baby boy, whose winning semi-final goal she'd missed last week because she'd had a label event in New York that weekend. She'd cried guilty tears watching the video Sam had emailed her that night. And rather than her unplugged recording session and live listening event with Power 106, her thoughts were with Lilly, her little munchkin, who'd cried her eyes out whenever Mercedes would say goodbye for the last few weeks.

The five-year old hadn't reacted that way since she was _much_ younger, but Mercedes figured her frequent absence had finally taken a toll on her little girl. Before, when Mercedes had been recording, saying goodbye to mommy in the mornings meant she'd see her after school, but with Mercedes' new promotion schedule over the last couple of months, things were more sporadic. Saying goodbye to mommy in the mornings now meant she was probably flying out of town for a week or she had meetings and appearances booked that kept her out of the house until late—and Lilly wasn't having it, showing her disappointment in heartbreaking pouts, tears, and desperate clinging whenever Mercedes had to leave.

Sam and Cameron were more accustomed and had grown to understand when her schedule got this way, but she could still sense their discontentment whenever they saw each other, or spoke. Their smiles were always a little dimmer, their hugs a little tighter and she understood, because hers were the same.

"So, Nikki just needs to send over the file she made of the dress choices for the event," Clare said, bringing Mercedes' focus back to the present. Clare was one of the best people Mercedes knew, smart, fiercely loyal and protective, but also an extremely disciplined, no nonsense character. Mercedes had hired her for those specific qualities, and she usually loved it, but today she could have used a little loosening on the reins. "We'll get the makeup and stylist teams in by 2pm that day. You need to be red carpet ready by 7pm."

Mercedes stared blankly. She hadn't heard a word Clare said in the last twenty minutes and, for the life of her, had no clue what event she needed to choose dresses for and what day the makeup and stylist teams would be there by 2pm. She flinched a little, knowing she'd get one of Clare's 'FOCUS!' speeches if she let on. Clare was all about FOCUS!

Seeming to sense this, Ann, her assistant who'd been furiously scribbling into her notepad to that point, smiled brightly and filled in. "Got it," she answered quickly and Mercedes threw her a grateful smile. Satisfied, Clare moved on to the next item on the agenda—Mercedes' interviews on the red carpet. Though she tried hard to stay focused, it was only a few seconds before Mercedes was lost again, her mind wandering again to her family. She involuntarily let out a tired sigh, although this was only her first meeting of the day.

She just needed a break. It'd been weeks like this non-stop and she just needed some time where she wasn't an artist or a singer or an entertainer or in the public eye. She just wanted to be Mercedes, the woman, the wife, the mom.

She needed to get out of here.

Focusing back on the conversation, Clare had her nose buried in a planner filled to the brim with post its and color coding. "You'll have interviews with most of the press there, except that horrible Perez person," Clare was saying. "If he comes within an inch of you, I'll have him arrested." There was a dark look in her eyes for a moment, during which Mercedes and Ann could only imagine the things that were going through her head, before she was back to rattling off items and dates.

Mercedes looked at her, bewildered. "I'm sorry," she interrupted, abruptly standing. "I have to use the rest room."

Clare looked up in surprise and eyed Mercedes with concern. "Oh, okay. Are you alright?" Her smile was uncertain, but kind.

Mercedes nodded quickly, starting to make her way toward the rest room. "We'll continue when you get back," Clare called out behind her, her nose already buried in the planner once more, but Mercedes wasn't listening. Her plan was already in place. Signaling for Ann to follow, Mercedes went toward the bathrooms. Ann instantly knew something was up, and the tall girl followed wearily, wringing her hands and biting her lip the entire way. They'd barely made it inside before Mercedes turned to her.

"I'm gonna leave. I need you to cover for me," she whispered intensely at Ann.

Ann's normally kind blue eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "What?" she whispered back, though Clare was clear on the other side of the restaurant and had no chance of hearing either of them. "Mercy, she'll stare me down. She'll make the big eyes at me. You know how that is."

Mercedes nodded. The intensity of Clare's glare could wither Redwoods to ash in mere seconds, but she needed this. "Ann, please, I need you to do this for me," Mercedes repeated. "If I have to sit through one more second today, I'll explode. Just tell her I had to leave."

"You were just here. Where do I say you went all of a sudden?" Ann asked, her eyes were still wide with fear and Mercedes could literally see the poor girl starting to panic.

"Just tell her I got sick," Mercedes suggested, then nodded with a smile at her own lie. "Tell her it was a horror scene in here. Just throwing up everywhere...and...and hives! Tell her I just ran out. I'll deal with her wrath later."

Ann made a grossed out face, but started to nod more confidently. "What about your dress picking?"

"Send over the file," Mercedes said immediately. "I'll look at them today and send you a choice. Promise."

Ann nodded and scrolled through her phone for a second. "Mercedes, you've got a really full day today," she said, the panic starting to return in a rush.

"Please, Ann? Please! I've probably only gotten to see my family for a collective total of 30 minutes this week and each time I'm running out before they're all fully awake or falling into bed too exhausted to spend any time with them," she begged. "My daughter cries whenever I head for the door," she continued. "The last conversation I had with my son consisted of him recounting entire weeks of his life that I just wasn't around for, and my husband is annoyingly getting a kick out of calling himself my sidepiece. I'm going crazy," she finished, the look on her face a desperate plea.

Ann seemed to consider this for a moment before she blew out a breath. "Fine. I'll let Clare murder me with her eyes, but you owe me. Big time."

"Anything you want," Mercedes said quickly and she meant it. Schedules would need to shift. Clare would flip. The label would be putting in concerned calls. Ann would have to juggle _a million_ things to keep everyone happy. She would indeed deserve the reward for pulling this off.

"I'll let you know when I'm ready to collect," Ann informed Mercedes with a playful smile, making her smile, too. She looked through the schedule on her phone quietly for a moment before she looked back up at Mercedes.

"I'll get your fitting rescheduled for Friday morning before the photo shoot. I'll have your interviewer meet us at the studio, you can do both at once. You have to Skype it in with David tomorrow morning, though," she added, referring to a meeting Mercedes had with her financial consultant. "He's out of town until next week after tomorrow and he's been blowing up about an investment opportunity for you and Sam. I'll schedule that Skype call for 9 tomorrow and give you a wakeup call at 8 tomorrow morning."

"Fine," Mercedes said, beginning to smile wide at the prospect of a free afternoon.

"I can't do anything about Friday's unplugged session so you'll have to rush straight from the photo shoot to that. Then all of the autographed pre-orders you promised to your fanclub, I'll push to Saturday during your makeup and styling. You should be able to get that done while you're under the dryer..."

Mercedes listened diligently while Ann pushed things in her schedule around, and was over the moon by the end of it, when she escaped with not only a free afternoon, but a mostly free day the next day as well, where barring a few Skyped morning interviews and meeting with her financial consultant from home, she'd get to enjoy the company of her family.

She hugged Ann emphatically before she took off toward the restaurant exits, laughing as Ann nicely told her to, "feel better soon." Luckily, Clare still had her nose buried in her planner when she emerged and Mercedes wasted no time in making her escape.

* * *

><p>The downtown office where Sam was working on bringing one of his comics to life on the silver screen was, thankfully, not too far from the restaurant Mercedes had escaped from. She knew he was sitting in on some auditions today, trying to pick the best actors for the film, but her suddenly newfound freedom meant nothing without her partner in crime. She hoped to God he was having the kind of day he could get out of for a bit of spontaneity.<p>

Determinedly, _hopefully_, she made her way to his office, graciously smiling at all the stares and excited whispers she garnered along the way. Even having clocked in years as a celebrity, she still didn't really know what to do in those situations. Still, no one seemed to mind her shy waves and small thankful smiles as she moved quickly through the halls.

Soon enough, she found herself in the waiting room outside of Sam's office staring into the peacefully pleasant face of his assistant, Gary—a quirky, spiky-haired kid who always seemed undaunted by what was happening in the world around him and who tended to speak as if he were in the midst of chewing his words. Still, the kid had a talent for his job, just as efficient and determined as Clare, but as caring and compassionate as Ann. He was also as big a dork as his boss, as evidenced by the Storm Trooper on the tie he was currently wearing, and that helped.

Mercedes found herself smiling as she walked up to his desk and giggled a bit when he stood up and treated her to an awkward bow before greeting her. "Oh, Mrs. Evans," he said happily. His smile bloomed across his face as he looked at her. "Commander Sam didn't say you'd be in today."

_Commander? _Mercedes' answering look was one of question, and Gary seemed to understand right away, launching into an explanation. "He felt weird about me calling him 'Mr. Evans', so he said I could pick something else."

"And you went with Commander?" Mercedes asked as more of a statement, suppressing the bubble of laughter that wanted to escape at Gary's happy nod.

"It came down between that and Master, but that made me feel a little too much like a butler," Gary said with a bright smile. "Commander works and he calls me lieutenant," he finished with a chuckle. With that, he pointed to the name plate on his desk, where it indeed said Lieutenant Gary. Mercedes merely quirked an eyebrow at the information and nodded. Sam may have been all grown up, but he was still a giant dork where it counted.

"Well, is the Commander in? I'd like to speak to him for a moment," she told Gary, and giggled again when her words sprung him into action. In an instant he was back at his desk, pressing a series of buttons on the phone. As soon as it connected, Sam's voice filled the room. "Lieutenant," he said by way of greeting and Mercedes rolled her eyes amusedly.

"Actually, no," Mercedes piped up before Gary could say anything.

"'Cedes?" Sam asked in surprise and Mercedes shook her head, scrunching up her face in thought, though he couldn't actually see her.

"Actually, I was thinking something like 'Admiral' would work nicely, Commander," Mercedes suggested and laughed at Sam's chuckle.

"I'm never gonna live this one down, am I?" Sam asked, though he already had a fairly good idea of the answer.

"Not for a few months, at least," Mercedes said wryly, confirming his suspicions. Sam had no choice but to laugh.

It was only a few minutes before he could pull himself out of the meeting he'd been in and meet Mercedes in his office. His face broke out into an easy smile when he saw her, one she couldn't help but return. "Is it the kids?" Sam asked and she waved him off, letting him know it wasn't anything serious.

He only paused long enough after that to nod at Gary and direct him to keep anyone from disturbing them before grabbing Mercedes' hand and pulled her into his office, tucking them safely away inside and locking the door.

Mercedes' plan had been to move straight into an explanation for her presence, but she found herself unable to speak when Sam's mouth crashed down on hers in a searing kiss the moment he'd locked the doors. Apparently he didn't really care why she was there. They hadn't had time for these kinds of kisses in a long while and he was taking advantage of the opportunity.

Her brain's functionality took an immediate nosedive as he deepened the kiss, coaxing her mouth open and stroking her tongue gently with his own. She smiled into their kiss, though somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice that sounded somewhat like hers screamed that this hadn't been part of the plan.

She wanted to speak, but one of Sam's thumbs grazed a sensitive spot below her ear, making her shudder, as he cupped her head and kissed her harder, and another hand had settled firmly against the curve of her ass, pushing her body to settle against his and Mercedes lost all reason.

She melted into his touch, not putting up even the slightest hint of a battle as he guided her across his office and lowered her onto the couch, fitting himself between the v of her legs in a smooth motion. By the time he'd started in with the whispers of how much he'd missed her a few minutes later, he'd already tossed his shirt and her blouse was two buttons away from sharing the same fate. Whatever she had to say could wait, she decided, smiling into their next kiss as her blouse went falling to the floor.

* * *

><p>Sam could only smile at the content smile on his wife's face, mirroring it with his own as they came down from their high. He pulled a small Tennessee Titans throw blanket that always lay on the couch over their bodies, belatedly thinking he'd have to sanitize the couch later on or it'd make for some awkward meetings later in the week.<p>

With their schedules the last few weeks, it'd been a little while since they'd gone at it like that, and longer still since they'd been reckless enough to do it in his office. He was thankful the space was soundproof as he thought of Gary sitting out front. The original intent was so he could play his music as loudly as he pleased while he immersed himself in his work, but keeping the sounds of his and Mercedes' love-making just between the two of them worked too. He laughed outright at the thought. They may have been an old, married couple by now, but they still had it. He punctuated the thought with a kiss to her shoulder as he settled in behind her on the couch, letting his fingers graze her hip lightly under the blanket, smiling when she sighed out a breath and pushed herself further into him.

"Is it almost time for you to go back to your woman," he asked quietly after a moment. His tone was teasing and he laughed loudly when Mercedes sucked her teeth at him, moving her arm back to elbow him in the belly. She hated that joke and he knew it.

He'd been too wrapped up in being with her to ask questions before, but they came then.

"I called in sick...sort of," Mercedes explained vaguely, laughing at Sam's exaggerated gasp.

"Mrs. Evans, playing hookie!" Sam hollered in mock-scandalization. "Will Clare be looking for me?" he asked and Mercedes rolled her eyes even as she smiled at the question.

"No, Ann is warding her off until Friday morning, so I'm all yours for the rest of the day, and tomorrow, too if you can manage it," Mercedes said, grabbing a hold of his hand and smiling when he buried his face into her neck and squeezed her.

She could feel his smile against her and laughed outright when he said, "I'm gonna buy Ann the biggest wine basket I can find."

* * *

><p>Cameron was as over this day as he could be. Just about everything that could go wrong, had in like some grand synchronized cosmic fail. He hadn't been feeling his best this week to start as he was battling a cold and he had woken up late that morning, sleeping right through his alarm.<p>

That had set a rushed tone to the day from the start and he'd run around that morning frantically trying to get everything together so he wouldn't make his dad and sister late for their days. In his haste, he'd managed to forget his lunch—his dad always made him something packed with protein on his practice days. He'd left his homework behind, to boot, and his practice gear was still sitting in the trunk of his dad's car as he'd also forgotten to grab that this morning. Coach would be just ecstatic about that later when he was attempting to run around in his jeans and not sweat to death.

He wanted to call his dad, but he hadn't wanted to be a burden and had just resigned himself to the fact that this was just going to be a shitty day. He wished he could just go home, call this day a failure, and try again tomorrow. He didn't even have Tyler's presence to be a bright spot as the Changs were in South Korea this week, celebrating the Chuseok holiday with Tina's paternal family. He sighed out in exasperation as his Algebra teacher droned on about the equation of a straight line and lowered his head onto his arm, before turning to look out of the classroom window.

Before long, he was staring into space so intently that he hadn't heard when the phone in his classroom started ringing and his teacher stopped talking to go answer it. He also didn't hear when his teacher then turned to him and called his name. It wasn't until the third time his name was called that he turned startled eyes toward the front of the room, wincing slightly.

_Great, just what he needed. He must have been asked a question he now had no idea how to answer_, he thought as he continued to stare, ignoring the giggles of the other students around him.

To his surprise, his teacher only said, "You need to take your things and go to the front office." Cameron gasped.

"What? Why?" His teacher shook his head and returned to looking at his notes. Getting sent to the office for spacing out in class was a bit extreme, Cameron thought as he stared in disbelief. He wanted to argue, but his teacher had returned to his lesson, and being a smartass about then would probably only make it worse. Cameron sighed, upset, and stood up, hastily shoving his books inside the bag before heading out the door. He'd thought the day couldn't get worse and he'd been wrong.

It was a battle with exhausted tears the whole way to the office. He was tired. He felt like crap, and he'd just gotten in trouble over nothing. He'd probably have detention, and he'd have to miss some of practice and coach would be mad. His parents would be mad. _He_ was mad! This day just sucked. It was the worst and he was over it. This day could just go to—.

He stopped in his tracks as he rounded the corner into the office and found his parents sitting in the waiting room chairs. They looked up at him and he didn't even take a moment to register their smiles before he was talking.

"They called you?" he asked, bewildered. This was a whole lot of hubbub over looking out the window for a second. Honestly. "It's just been the worst day. I just spaced for a second, I swear," he explained. At their blank looks he stopped and thought. "Wait, how'd you get here so fast?" he asked and then just sighed tiredly. "What's going on?"

Sam and Mercedes chuckled at Cameron's exhausted confusion. He was so far off his usual game, it wasn't even funny. Looks like they weren't the only ones who could have used the day off, and more then ever, Mercedes praised her decision as she looked at her son's worn down appearance. He hadn't even tried with his hair and just shoved the mess of curls into a beanie. His clothes had also seen better days and Mercedes would be willing to bet they'd been the cleanest ones on his floor that morning.

"Rough day?" Mercedes asked and laughed when Cameron only stared back at her in response. His face said it all.

"Well, you're in luck," she said enthusiastically. "Your dad and I decided to take the day off to spend with you guys. We just signed you out."

Cameron looked between the two of them for a beat, and then his face broke out into the brightest smile either of them had ever seen. His arms were open seconds later and he put one around each of them before saying, "Bring it in. Just bring it in here and let's hug it out. I love y'all. Go parents. Yes."

Sam and Mercedes burst out laughing, but gave him his hug anyway, oblivious to the stares of the secretaries watching them in the office. Soon enough they were making their way to his locker to gather up his things, a trip Cameron chose to take by piggyback ride out of the office. Mercedes just shook her head at the two of them as she walked alongside them down the hall.

* * *

><p>Mercedes laughed looking back at Cameron as they pulled up to Lilliana's school. He hadn't lasted even five minutes into the drive and had fallen asleep almost as soon as they left his school. He lay back there now, passed out and oblivious to the world around him. Sam lowered his window a bit, telling him they'd be back as he and Mercedes got down to go collect their daughter. Their only response was a sleepy groan which they took as a sign of his understanding.<p>

Together they made their way to Lilly's school, stopping to sign her out before they walked to her pre-school classroom. Looking in through the window, they could see her in the middle of circle time, dancing to a song about the days of the week. Sam made sure to point out and congratulate himself on her clothes for the day. Mercedes smiled at Lilly's outfit—a black shirt with a glittery pink heart in the center, surrounded by an explosion of glittery paint splatter in all different colors, black tights, and zebra print Uggs with a cute little picture of a zebra on the foot. Sam had dressed her that morning, with his wife as the clear inspiration. In high school, Mercedes didn't doubt she'd have worn something just like it.

She smiled at her husband and pulled his hand, finally opening the door to step inside Lilliana's classroom. The second the door was opened, Lilliana had decided her circle time was over. Forgotten were the rules as she screamed out for her mother and sprinted across the floor to jump in her arms. She hadn't seen Mercedes that morning and got all of her cuddles in now that she could, only breaking them to give her dad a kiss when he pouted about being ignored.

Soon enough, they were headed back to the car. Lilliana's usually chatty demeanor was absent as she just chose to hold on to her mom. Sam walked along behind the two of them, holding Lilly's backpack which she'd all but forgotten.

* * *

><p>They made the best of the day, taking the kids out for lunch in an area that wouldn't attract paparazzi. Explaining to Clare why she was out for a leisurely lunch with her family when she'd been deathly ill just that morning would have proven difficult. Cameron had woken up just in time to stuff his face and had seemed like a whole new person after that. His smart mouth returned in full force, praising his meal as if it were a personal blessing delivered by Jesus himself and he'd spent lunch regaling him with a sarcastic play by play of his entire morning of fail. His parents were crying laughing by the time he got to spacing out in class. They'd all been there and Cameron kept such a busy schedule, he'd more than earned one of those days.<p>

They'd headed home afterwards where Sam and Cameron decided a lunch time swim was in order, and Mercedes and Lilliana joined them. That soon divulged into hijinks between Sam and Cameron and Mercedes opted to leave before one of them decided to get her hair wet and she'd have to kill them.

Sam and Cameron had stayed on in the back yard running around after that playing soccer, while Mercedes and Lilly headed inside to rinse and dry off. That soon turned into a mini-spa day between the two of them, where Mercedes treated her daughter to some pampering with some impromptu facials and a mani-pedi that had Lilly brimming with excitement. She loved to wear polish on her nails and she loved that she could finally see her mother for more than a rushed ten minutes.

By the time the girls were done, they headed to find the boys and see what was up for dinner, only to find them in the middle of watching The Scooby Doo movie...and laughing their heads off. The Cool Ranch Doritos were out and they were both sprawled on the couch laughing at everything Shaggy did. She and Lilly decided to join, but spent more time laughing at Sam and Cameron than actually watching the movie.

Mercedes looked around at the smiling faces of her family around her, thinking she'd made the right decision. Clare had called a few times, but she'd dodged, sending texts instead and making it clear that she wouldn't budge on the time she'd taken.

People would be mad at having to rearrange their schedules, they'd be upset to be inconvenienced, but she couldn't really bring herself to care. Her family was more important than any photoshoot or interview or performance. It could all simply wait. She would never regret forcibly taking time away from her career to give to them.

Making it big had long since stopped being the dream she lived for, and sitting in her living room surrounded by Sam and Cameron laughing themselves to tears over some dumb movie while her daughter laid against her and laughed at them was exactly where she wanted to be.

* * *

><p>Later, they sat around the living room eating take out. Inspector Gadget played on in the background, occasionally catching Sam's or Cameron's interest whenever he said 'Wowsers!'. They'd both burst out laughing and chug a glass of juice. Mercedes simply shook her head. They'd be the ones up peeing all night so they could carry on. She wouldn't say anything.<p>

"Today ended up somewhere completely different from where it started," Cameron said on a happy sigh, after a moment. Sam and Mercedes looked at him with a smile. "Too bad the real world will come a-knocking tomorrow. It was good while it lasted, though." He sighed again and laid his head back on the couch. "Y'all can sign me out of school anytime, by the way. Just FYI. I won't be mad."

"Me, too," Lilliana added from her place resting against her dad and made everyone laugh.

Cameron's tone had been teasing and he'd expected a laugh out of them, but Mercedes' response came as a complete shock.

"How about tomorrow?" she asked, shooting him a smile.

Cameron and Lilliana popped up from their relaxed positions and looked between their parents who simply laid back against the couch cushions as chill as could be.

"Seriously?" Cameron asked, not daring to hope and dream.

"Seriously," was Sam's succinct response and then he was laughing again as Cameron's bright smile from earlier returned. His arms immediately spread out and engulfed his entire family. "Bring it in for the hug out. Go team Evans. I'm seriously gonna get y'all a plaque."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: My mom and dad used to do this once in a while when I was growing up and let me tell y'all, the memories are awesome. My mom taught me how to bake German Chocolate cake one time. And my dad took me to work with him one time. We went to breakfast one time. Impromptu days off were the best. Anyway, I just started thinking about it and this is what came out. I hope y'all enjoyed. Until next time! Please review! :)**


	65. Blessed

**A/N: Hello again! I present you with Daddy!Sam, Mommy!Mercedes, and really tiny baby!Cam having cuddly family moments. It's been a long while and I'm still shaking off the rust, but I hope y'all enjoy this. I'm already working on another one that I hope to finish and post on the weekend. Anyway...here it goes.**

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><p>Cameron's thin cry through the baby monitor on Mercedes' nightstand abruptly jolted both of his parents out of their sleep. At only six days old, the sound was still really new, and one that incited an immediate frenzy within the nervous pair whenever they heard it. Their eyes opened at once, looking around their darkened bedroom, trying to get their bearings for a moment before they sprang into action.<p>

Mercedes jerked awake first, quickly pulling out of Sam's arms where she'd been peacefully ensconced moments prior. She sat up in a hurry and whimpered in pain as the action aggravated the still very sore and tender spots of her body.

Sam was up beside her in a flash, sleep completely routed out by the concern seeping into his eyes. He turned, reaching to light the small lamp on his nightstand, before giving his attention to his wife. Rubbing her back soothingly, he gingerly guided Mercedes back down, grimacing in empathy as he watched her face contort.

"Are you okay?" he whispered worriedly, knowing that any strain on her stitches would send her into a world of pain. Mercedes' eyes were still squeezed shut and she let out a harsh breath through her nose as she waited for the discomfort to subside a little. She nodded slightly at Sam's question and tried to pull away from him in an effort to sit again when Cameron let out another soft cry.

"You have to be careful," Sam urged, gently holding her back. "Dr. Laurel said you need to move slowly and chill out for the next couple of weeks until you heal," he added, his thoughts momentarily drifting back to a few days before in the delivery room, where he'd looked on in wonder and intense love—and a _little bit_ of terror—as Mercedes had brought his son into the world. He'd always known she was a strong woman before then, but he'd been in absolute awe of her in that moment. They hadn't made it to the hospital in time for her to get her epidural. She'd nearly broken his hand, said every cuss word in at least six languages, and she'd screamed louder than he'd ever heard anyone scream ever in his life, but she'd made it through. And then they'd both promptly dissolved tears of relief, pain, and _overwhelming_ joy when they'd heard Cameron's first cry.

Mercedes pulled him back to the present with her protest. "I know she did, but Cam…" she insisted, still trying to sit back up again, despite the pain. She let her words trail when Sam spoke up once more.

"I got him, baby. Just rest," Sam assured with a soft smile, slipping out of bed, and heading for the door.

Mercedes sighed out a breath, seeming to contemplate a rebuttal for an instant as she watched Sam leave, before she just nodded and let herself fall gently against the bed again—slightly frustrated at her body's limitations, when all of her instincts compelled her to want to move at the speed of light whenever Cameron needed anything.

He had been home with them a mere three days now, and though it was everything she and Sam had ever wanted, they were both still a mess of nerves and anxiety with every new moment. Every scrunch of his face, every wriggle of his tiny body, and every sound he made was simultaneously mind-blowing and intimidating for the new parents.

Mercedes had expected the intense love she felt for Cameron. She'd felt it from the moment she'd found out she was pregnant, and when Sam had turned into a puddle of tears in the middle of their first ultrasound—sobbing at the sound of the the baby's heartbeat—Mercedes had known he'd felt it, too. If _that_ hadn't been enough, his eagerness to make copies of the sonogram picture to proudly display in a frame in their living room and a slot in his wallet had told her as much.

_Unexpected_ had been their constant state of worry—was he comfortable, was he too warm, was he too cold, was he hungry, was he clean, was he getting enough sleep, was he breathing properly, what did that gurgle mean, why was he making that face…

Mercedes wondered if the panic would ever subside, and it was the same for Sam.

She thought back to the journey home from the hospital. Sam's usually bubbly personality had been toned down— focused and serious—as he carried Cameron in his car seat out to their car, making sure he was wrapped warmly in his blanket, and his hat pulled securely over his head. He'd glanced back often to Mercedes who was being escorted out on a wheelchair by a hospital attendant, keeping a watchful eye over both her and Cameron. Then, he'd checked and rechecked that the car seat was hooked in correctly, and that she was buckled in even though she sat in the back with Cameron, before they started for home.

The drive back had been comical at best, with Sam who was usually a very responsible driver anyway, taking things overboard. He refused to go even a hair over the speed limit and followed every rule to the letter the entire way home, calmly taking every curse and honk thrown his way and shrugging it off. Several times, Mercedes caught his eye in the rearview and smiled fondly at his hawk-like gaze and his constant wondering if they were okay.

He'd actually sighed in relief as they pulled up to their home, helping her out of the car before taking out the car seat. He insisted on walking with her even when she'd urged him to keep going, and held her hand the whole way into the house and up the stairs, walking at a snail's pace so as not to disturb anything. They went straight to Cameron's nursery and situated the already sleeping baby into his crib, turned on his monitor, and stood together watching him sleep, and crying a few emotional tears as they took in the fact that he was finally here. All their agonizing and wondering and preparing had culminated in that moment. He was home with them.

Mercedes had gasped coming into their bedroom that day. A nap had been in order, but she'd stopped short on her walk to the closet, and zoomed in on a large bouquet of flowers and balloons waiting on her nightstand along with a long, slim jewelry box. Sam stood smiling by the door when she looked back in askance and motioned her over to the gifts. The flowers had been a vibrant array of countless yellow and white roses while the balloons bespoke congratulations and thanks. The jewelry box had contained a necklace—a simple platinum chainlink with a medallion engraved with Cameron's name and date of birth as well as pendant that held Cameron's birthstone.

The gesture had played on her already out of whack hormones and she'd sobbed the ugliest tears just standing there, taking it all in and trying to read the card. Sam had eventually had to help her change into some comfortable clothes and hold her until she finally calmed down enough to fall asleep.

She smiled now, looking to the nightstand where the arrangement still sat. She pulled out the card again, reading it over with a fond smile as she played with the medallion on the necklace she now wore.

_Mercedes, _

_I just wanted to find a way to say thank you...for everything. And that doesn't even come kinda close to capturing how I'm actually feeling at this moment, but I have to try and express it, because you deserve to hear it. Thank you for loving me, for being my everything, and for giving me my beautiful baby boy. Thank you is honestly just the tip of the iceberg. You've given me everything I've ever thought I wanted in my life and more than I even had the capacity to wish for. You are a gift, baby—the absolute best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm lucky to get to wake up next to you every morning and live my life with you, and that we get to do this together forever & always, til we're old, grey, and wrinkly. I'm so blessed that you chose me, that you said yes, that you said I do, and that you chose me as the father of your child. I know I'm blessed and I promise never to take any of it for granted. I love you and our perfect baby boy so much and I can't wait to start this new adventure in our lives together._

_Sam_

She smiled lightly, closing her eyes, when Sam's voice travelled through the monitor a moment later. "Hey, little dude," he sang quietly, soothingly sushing Cameron's cries. "I got you. Daddy's here," he assured, and Mercedes cursed her still jacked-up hormones at the way her heart fluttered in response.

She listened for a moment as Sam puttered around the nursery for a bit, idly narrating his actions and humming randomly as he changed a still-fussy Cameron's diaper. Each little whine from Cameron was like a dagger to Mercedes' heart, and soon despite the impending fit she expected Sam to pitch, she found herself delicately lifting herself out of bed.

She slowly made her way to the nursery, almost waddling in an effort not jostle her body strictly more than necessary. Her bare feet padded softly against the hardwood floors, but still the sound traveled quietly ahead of her. She winced amusedly when Sam's voice called out. "That better be a ghost out there."

Mercedes peeked into the doorway, smiling brightly at her husband. "Boo," she said quietly when their eyes locked and Sam closed his eyes and shook his head at her. The smile on his face said he was more amused than anything else, however.

"Very funny," Sam said dryly, a second later, as he watched her slowly waddle her way over to the spot where he stood with Cameron. "If the singing thing ever falls through, you've got a promising career as a comedian in your future." Mercedes only stuck her tongue out at him as she finally stopped in front of him, already reaching for their son, who was curled into his father's shirtless chest, still wriggling fussily.

Sam fixed Mercedes with an expectant look, still waiting on her explanation as to why she was standing in front of him when she should have been in bed.

"_What_?" Mercedes asked, in _precisely_ the kind of defensive tone she always used when she already knew exactly what. Sam pursed his lips at her and she could only laugh in response. "I couldn't just lie there," Mercedes said by way of explanation, reaching out her hands again to take Cameron into her arms.

Sam gently guided her into the rocking chair nearby first, insisting that she at least sit down, and Mercedes resisted the urge to roll her eyes, reminding herself that he was only concerned about her. It _was_ sweet and she loved him for it—even if he was going a bit overboard.

She sat down with a slight flourish, laughing when he rolled his eyes at her good-naturedly, and finally set a wriggling Cameron into her arms. Immediately, Mercedes deposited a kiss to the baby's forehead before running her thumb across his honey-blond curls. Cameron's whimpers and wriggling calmed at the contact and he even opened his eyes a bit, looking curiously toward his mom.

His green eyes connected with his mother's brown ones, bringing a smile to her face. "Hi, baby boy," she said softly, grazing her finger along his tiny hand. Cameron's little fingers opened when she did, and she let him close them around her finger.

"I can't get over him," Mercedes said after a moment, slightly giddy as she smiled adoringly down at Cameron. "I still can't believe it—like this little person was inside of me and now he's here."

An loving smile bloomed on Sam's face as he stood watching them together, the soft glow of the lamp on the end table next to them framing them like a painting. He pulled a nearby ottoman closer before sitting with them, watching silently as Cameron let out a tiny yawn before twisting his head around toward his mother. His lips parted and stayed open as he mouthed around the material of Mercedes' shirt, clearly in search of something.

Mercedes quickly got the hint, looking at Sam and sharing a small smile with him, before slowly unbuttoning her shirt. Cameron wasted no time latching on to her breast, his little fingers never loosening their grip on his mother's finger.

Mercedes stared down at her son for a moment longer, still amazed, before laying her head back against the rocking chair and closing her eyes. There was a smile on her face as she began humming softly, moving the chair back and forth slowly, the skin of her legs brushing gently against Sam's on every pass.

Sam was suddenly awestruck by the intimacy of the moment—the quiet of the room in the home he'd made with Mercedes, the peaceful expressions of his wife and son, the connection they all shared as a family, and the realization that, in spite of everything he'd had to go through—all the obstacles that had threatened to take this away from him—he finally had all he'd ever really wanted.

His smile was a grateful one when he looked to Mercedes again. She was oblivious to his intense gaze as she continued to move back and forth in the chair, her soft hum still permeating the air around them, and Sam used the moment to take her in. She'd always been beautiful and amazing to him since the day he met her and that had only grown over time, but now as he watched her with Cameron, his wife and the mother of his child, the feeling overwhelmed him in a way that left his heart so full he doubted he could ever properly express it.

Still he tried, bringing her attention to him with a squeeze of his hand to her knee. "You're so amazing," he said quietly.

Mercedes didn't lift her head from the seat, and only laughed softly with her eyes still closed. "I'm a mess," she replied jokingly, though she really felt it. She needed a hair appointment like she needed air, she hadn't slept more than three or four hours at a time in actual days, and her body was going through so much at the moment she wasn't sure she'd ever feel normal again.

"No, I mean it," Sam insisted, squeezing her knee again. This time Mercedes _did_ look at him, shooting a small smile his way. "I love you," Sam said.

"I love you, too, Sam," Mercedes told him, reaching out to hold his hand.

"You have no idea how grateful I am, baby. For our baby," Sam said smoothing a hand over his son's curls. "For you," he continued squeezing Mercedes' hand. "I'm so happy I'm not even sure what to do with myself."

Mercedes' smile beamed out at him and she tugged on Sam's hand in a silent request for him to come closer. He went without hesitation, leaning forward until he was close enough to press his lips against hers in a soft kiss. When they separated a moment later, she pulled him into a hug, still needing to feel close to him.

"I love you," she said on a happy sigh, squeezing him tightly, and smiling at his quiet reciprocation.

It was only when Cameron gurgled a few moments later, wriggling between them when he'd finally decided that he was full, that the couple moved apart again with a laugh. Mercedes fixed her shirt and moved Cameron to her shoulder, belatedly realizing she hadn't remembered is burp cloth.

"I need his—," Mercedes started, attempting to stand up and get it herself—and rolling her eyes again when Sam staved her off.

"I'll get it," he said already halfway out of his seat.

"Sam, I'm not an invalid," Mercedes protested, watching him pick up the cloth.

"I didn't say you were," he answered, when he got back and sat next to her, handing her the cloth.

"I can get things, too," she told him, bringing Cameron up to her shoulder. She rolled her eyes when Sam only nodded, knowing fully well that he wasn't intending to change anything about his current behavior.

Soon, Cameron had fallen back to sleep and Mercedes and Sam put him back into his crib, checking his monitor again just in case before they headed back to their room.

"I'll take care him the next time he wakes up," Mercedes told Sam as they walked down the hallway, Sam having to slow his pace considerably to stay with Mercedes.

"I can do it. You shouldn't be moving around so much right now," Sam told her wrapping his arms around her from behind when she turned and side-eyed him. He pressed a placating kiss to her neck and continued their awkward shuffle down the hall, still holding her.

"It's not fair if you're the only one that has to get up all the time," Mercedes argued.

"I'm not complaining," Sam replied. "You carried him inside you for nine months, baby. You did the hard part. Having to get up for a few weeks is cake," he continued, kissing her cheek this time.

"But—," Mercedes started to protest and Sam cut her off with a sigh.

"How about...let's compromise," he suggested and she turned her head toward him to show she was listening.

"The next time he wakes up. I'll go get him and bring him to you. Then, I'll bring him back to bed when it's time," Sam said as they finally reached their bedroom. He unwrapped himself from her body, but still held her hand as he guided her back to their bed.

"Deal," Mercedes said on a big yawn, gently climbing into bed again. Sam waited until she was situated before scooting closer and wrapping his arms around her again. He tucked her gently against his chest and ran a hand over her hair.

"Deal then," he said. "Now, let's get some sleep before he goes off again," Sam said.

"He's not an alarm, Sam," Mercedes said with a small chuckle.

"Could have fooled me. Like clockwork, every three hours, demanding a boob," Sam drawled tiredly, already feeling the sleep setting in.

"He's a lot like his father then," Mercedes teased in a sleepy mumble.

"Ha! Again with the jokes," Sam murmured, his eyes shutting lazily. "Let's get you an agent."

"Who's joking?" Mercedes asked faintly—her eyelids drooping closed—and felt Sam laughing softly against her.

They were both out cold within seconds.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you enjoyed. Please leave me a review if you did! And also if you have any Cam/Lilly prompts, please leave them here. I need some inspiration lol.**


	66. McConaughey

**A/N: I had to. Because...yeah. I had to.**

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><p>"Please, can we keep him, daddy? <em>Please<em>?!" Lilly's voice was strained as if she might explode if Sam didn't say yes right then and there. They stood by the puppy kennels at their local pet store, waiting for Cameron to pick up some food and supplies for his turtle Rafael.

The small puppy Lilly held in her hand piped up with a bark and licked her face, making the four-year old giggle before smothering the animal with kisses, which he gladly returned.

Sam's eyes popped open at the request, and he quickly looked toward Cameron and Mercedes who stood a few aisles over in the pet store, comparing a few brands. "_Please_?!" Lilly cried again. She moved toward her father and tugged on the legs of his pants, holding the puppy out toward him when he begrudgingly glanced down at her.

"Can we?" she asked, her doe eyes just like her mother's, wide and hopeful.

"Bean, I don't think that's such a good idea," Sam said lowering himself until he was kneeling before her.

"Please, daddy? Please?" she said, using her puppy dog pout for all it was worth.

Sam sighed and blew out a breath looking back toward Mercedes' who had finally finished up with Cameron and was turning his way. It took her .02 seconds to suss out the situation by the look on Sam's face, and she was already shaking her head as she marched up to them, Cameron not too far behind.

"No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No, Sam," she said, a no for every step. "We've been through this and no."

"But, mommy," Lilly started.

"No. I'm sorry, baby. No," Mercedes said, shaking her head while she looked down, refusing to even glance at the dog.

"Baby, maybe we could try for...," Sam began, and was abruptly cut off. He tucked in his lips as his eyes widened.

"Maybe, my foot, Sam!" Mercedes hissed at him.

"It's a different dog, though," Sam pointed out.

"It's _still_ a dog. It's gonna tear apart our furniture and eat my weaves _just_ like the last one," Mercedes retorted.

At this, Cameron, who'd been watching the exchange like a ping pong match, perked. "Wait. There's a story here. A dog that eats weaves," he said with a grin looking at his parents expectantly. "I'm listening."

Sam looked away with an eye roll but Mercedes didn't shy away. "Your dad adopted a gremlin dog and named McConaughey before you and your sister were born. To show me he could be a good dad."

"Amazing," Cameron said, closing his eyes and nodding his head. The look on his face was beyond tickled.

"He wasn't a gremlin," Sam muttered "He was cute...in his own way."

"He was too! And that dog was _not_ cute, Sam. He tore up the couch, he pooped _everywhere_ including inside my favorite pair of Jimmy Choos, the _only_ Jimmy Choos I even had back then, _which_ he later chewed up," she said holding up a finger.

Sam started to speak, but was silenced by the strength of his wife's glare and Cameron marveled at her ability to do that when his father towered a whole foot above her. "I'm _not_ done," she informed her husband. "He also ate my weaves which he later peed on! Do you know how much those bundles cost?"

"But this is a different dog," Sam pointed out.

"I don't care if he's Scooby Doo! No, Sam," Mercedes said side-eyeing him.

At Lilly's consequent sniffle, she bent to address her daughter. "Lilly, I'm sorry, but we can't." Lilliana's eyes filled with tears. "Baby, don't, okay? I'm sorry, but a dog is just too much responsibility for us right now."

"I can take care of him," Lilly immediately piped up. "I can feed him and walk him. Mommy, please?" Lilly begged, squeezing the dog tighter.

"Yeah, mommy, please?" Cameron and Sam piped up together behind her. "We'll all pitch in," Sam said sweetening the pot.

Mercedes looked to the dog. This one was actually cute, but she still twitched at the thought of the McConaughey debacle.

"It's a different dog, baby," Sam said lowering next to her and checking her shoulder with his own.

"No," Mercedes said, but she was staring at Lilly's face and Sam could see her wavering.

"Come on, baby. You even got along with McConaughey after a while, remember? It wasn't all bad."

Mercedes smirked remembering Sam's antics with that damn dog. The way the dog would start barking and howling along whenever Sam would do that damn chest beating thing. The way Sam would always compliment him with "Alright, alright, alright," whenever he did something good. And she had to admit, now that she was thinking on it, times with McConaughey _hadn't_ been all bad...when they'd taken him to a vet and got him groomed and trained. He'd followed her all over the house and greeted her happily at the end of everyday. She'd kind of grown to feel something akin to fondness...though she still held those Jimmy Choos against him.

"Besides," Sam chimed in, bringing her back. "We've got a ginormous backyard now. He can go outside."

"We can lock your weaves up," Cameron provided helpfully, earning a side-eye from his mother.

"What do you say?" Sam asked, and three sets of eyes peered at Mercedes.

She looked to all three of them skeptically, and Sam chose this moment to start beating his chest and humming rhythmically. Before she knew it, he, Cameron, and Lilly had all joined in, and even the dog was barking along.

Mercedes laughed despite herself and stood up before heading down another aisle. But not before yelling back, "Fine. But if that dog chews up _one_ shoe, we're bringing him right back!"

The celebratory chest beating and chanting from her family got louder behind her and she giggled, shaking her head before she disappeared in the dog food and care aisle.

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><p><strong>AN: It is my headcanon that this dog is named DiCaprio. And that Lilly can't pronounce it so she calls him Capi. And he's a Yorkshire terrier. That is all lol. Goodnight. Please revieeeeew! I'm on cloud nine with these spoilers by the way...if you couldn't guess. I'm a crying mess.**


	67. A Day in the Life

**A/N: It's been a long roller coaster of a ride with Glee and, though I'm happy it's over and there's a lot about it and the fandom that I'm beyond ready to move on from, I just wanted to say that I'll always be so very grateful to it for giving me an opportunity to get to know so many of you. I made some amazing friends through the show and flailing with you and getting to write these stories for you all will always be a highlight in my life. And you guys have always been SO sweet with your words and your love for this story as well as all of my other ones. I'm really thankful for it! Unfortunately, I have no motivation right now to return to those stories. Glee completely stamped out the motivation I did have, but I wanted to offer something to you guys as a goodbye and thank you. I don't care what happened or didn't happen in canon, this family right here is Samcedes' future to me. They have always been and are forever #ENDGAME to me. So thanks again for all of the love these past few years with the story. I hope you guys will enjoy it. **

**Please forgive any errors, I was trying to get it done and posted before I left the house for dinner tonight.**

**Also, I'd like to dedicate this final chapter to the same person who inspired and encouraged me to ever start. Chantal, thanks so much for ever believing I could do it and always being so encouraging and supportive from the first word. Love you!**

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><p>"Are you kidding me?" Mercedes asked. Her nose scrunched up in confused indignation as she lay, glaring at the television. In a huff, she snatched up the remote that'd been lying next to her, and shut off the show she'd been watching just as the theme music started up and credits began to roll.<p>

"I can't believe I just wasted my time on that." Her voice sounded into her and Sam's now quiet room, and she rolled her eyes as she sat up in bed. She swung her legs over the side, pulling her hair into a messy bun as she made to stand.

While Sam had been literally dragged out by Mike and Puck, against his will, for their weekly bro night, Mercedes, who'd only just returned from her world tour a couple days back, had opted for a quiet evening in, catching up with shows she'd missed in all the chaos—starting with her once favorite show, Chorus.

She and Sam had once watched it together after a promising first season, but it'd gone on a steep decline shortly after, with horrible character development and even worse continuity. Sam had _long_ since given up after his favorite character Evan had seemingly gone through a personality change and an abrupt bout of amnesia in season 4, but Mercedes had begrudgingly tuned in here and there, whenever her favorite character Riley popped up. As the show was airing its series' finale however, Mercedes figured it wouldn't hurt to tune in.

It'd been a bad idea and the finale had left a bitter taste in her mouth. She instantly wished she'd opted to call up Tina for a BFF date instead—or maybe even spending the evening plucking out her eyelashes one by one would have been better than investing hours (and years) of her life she'd never get back on such _utter_ crap.

Rolling her eyes once more for good measure, she resolved to shake it off. She had other things to worry about anyway, and she could spend time before bed later offering up prayers that the show's writers would step on legos or stub their toes on furniture whenever they even thought of picking up a pen.

She smiled at her own thought wickedly as she made her way to her bedroom door and moved into the hall that led to the main part of the house. Music was blaring out of what she was sure was Cameron's room—and incessant loop from one of his video games, and she could hear him laughing raucously over it.

She headed straight for it, stopping just by the doorway, and leaning on the jamb. Inside, Cameron furiously pulverized his controller as he ran circles around and scored against what Mercedes suspected was probably Tyler's team in a round of FIFA 34. He cackled gleefully into his headset when the deed was done then stood up and broke out into an impromptu Windy City for good measure.

Mercedes smiled and shook her head, about to go off in search of her daughter when Cameron, who clearly still hadn't noticed her presence, yelled out.

"THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE! Take notes, Ty!" he said, still smiling! "I am the _Lord_ of Awesome!" he gloated into his headset. Mercedes shifted and Cameron belatedly turned and noticed his mother just as he shouted "DID YOU SEE THAT SHI—." His eyes widened, seeing Mercedes, and his voice lowered considerably as he finished, "itake mushroom?"

He stood up straight, flashing his mom the same innocent smile Sam always did when he knew he was in trouble. Mercedes glared at Cameron wordlessly, years of practice having made her immune.

"Mhm," she muttered a moment later, rolling her eyes at him. "Better say shiitake mushroom."

"I did. They're so good. Yum," Cameron said with a nervous giggle. "_You_ look pretty today…" he offered in a desperate attempt to shift the focus. He reached out his hands in a calming pat to his mom's shoulders and she raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. Tyler's loud laughter came through the headset still attached to Cameron's ears.

"I will wash out your mouth with soap, do you understand me?" Mercedes said warningly after a moment. He was a good foot taller than his petite mother, but Cameron gulped in fear. His head fell into an obedient nod.

"You hear me?" Mercedes asked, pointing a finger at him.

"Loud and clear," Cameron replied and let out the breath he'd been holding when she turned away from him and made her way down the hall.

"How can you laugh at a time like this?" Mercedes heard him ask Tyler. "My life flashed, dude. The end was nigh."

She giggled despite herself.

"Shut up, man. Don't even act like you wouldn't miss me. You'd fall to the ground in agony and scream out my name. Don't lie."

Mercedes' eyes widened at that, but she said nothing, tuning her son out as she walked into Lilliana's room.

The mood was far more subdued inside. Lilly lay on her back on the pink fluffy rug on her floor giggling as she waved a chew toy around and DiCaprio eagerly chased after it, his little body climbing back and forth over Lilly's without a care. She held it still above her in the air for a moment and DiCaprio climbed onto her her stomach, looking up at the toy. He jumped once or twice in the air after it, then sat on his hid legs and simply barked, while Lilly giggled madly.

Mercedes smiled as she made her way over to the pair. She'd been iffy when her family had basically suckered her into getting the dog, but seeing how happy it'd made Lilly, she knew it'd been the right decision. The two had been the best of pals since the day they brought him home.

Lilliana took him everywhere and was true to her words about taking care of him, and as he'd stayed away from her hair and her shoes, Mercedes had grown quite fond of him.

DiCaprio was fond of her too and showed it, when he abandoned his chase of the toy to run to Mercedes instead. He lifted up his front legs and placed them on hers, his tail wagging excitedly and barking as he waited for her attention.

She didn't disappoint and picked him up to shower him in cuddles and kisses as she sat next to Lilly, who was now smiling at the two of them. Her smile was a gummy one as she'd just lost the second of her two front teeth. She'd been far less phased this time though, remembering her dad's words about how losing her baby teeth meant she was becoming a big girl.

She sat up abruptly, and stood up running over to her desk and Mercedes watched after her curiously while she sat petting the dog. "Where's the fire?" she asked with a laugh.

"I drew a picture!" Lilly called out excitedly as she snatched a paper from her desk. Her curls bounced wildly at either side of her head as she ran back and shoved the paper proudly into Mercedes' face.

Mercedes looked at what she guessed was Lilly's version of their family portrait. She and Sam were holding hands next to a 2D house that was smaller than any of them. Cameron's was next and his curls flowed from his head in yellow-crayoned loops. Lilly was last and Mercedes guessed the blob she'd drawn in her hand was meant to be DiCaprio. They all had ginormous, round heads on triangle or square shaped bodies and feet in variously sized circles attached to stick thin legs, except for DiCaprio who was just a series of circles with random lines extending from them. But since her daughter had drawn it, it was obviously the cutest thing Mercedes had ever seen.

"I love it!" she said dotingly, and smiled at Lilly's beam.

"It's for you," Lilly decided and Mercedes knew yet another masterpiece was headed for their refrigerator door.

"Thanks, baby," Mercedes said pulling her daughter into the snugglefest with DiCaprio. They sat quietly playing with the dog for a few more minutes before Mercedes set him on the floor.

"Alright," she said in a serious tone and laughed when Lilly immediately tensed. She locked her arms around her daughter before she could immediately run away. "It's bath time. Then bed time."

Lilly groaned, then got an idea and flashed her toothless smile at her mother. "Can we wait until daddy comes? I like when he does the voices for my story," she suggested cleverly.

"Daddy's not getting home until late, bug, but your—," Mercedes started, but her eyes widened and she stopped short and laughed as she watched the door. Lilliana watched her curiously, but didn't follow her mother's gaze as Mercedes started speaking again.

"Actually, yeah," she agreed. "We can wait until daddy gets home."

Lilliana immediately cheered.

"But, when he gets here," Mercedes said, stopping her short. "No more stalling. No arguing. You just go, alright?"

Lilly nodded her agreement eagerly, happy to get her way. DiCaprio who'd been in Lilly's bathroom chose this moment to saunter back out. He took one look toward the door and made a break for it.

Lilly turned to see why and immediately turned back to her mother with a scowl.

Mercedes burst into peels of laughter and Sam joined in as he made his way over to them, DiCaprio in his arms.

"You guys tricked me," Lilly accused.

"You said no arguing," Mercedes reminded her in a singsong and Lilly sighed, making her parents laugh.

"Get going," Sam said, jerking his head toward bathroom door. Lilly thought about arguing for a moment, but thought better of it and made her way inside.

Mercedes stood up, smiling at him.

"You're home early," she said. "What happened to boys' night?"

Sam snorted as he set the dog down and it immediately ran to the bathroom in search of Lilly.

"I challenged Puck to a Ping Pong challenge so he'd let me go home," Sam informed her. "Whooped his ass—phalt." He started confidently but, tacked on the last part quickly after seeing her glare. "_You_ look pretty today…" Sam said with an innocent smile, pecking her lips.

Mercedes shook her head and made her way into the bathroom after Lilly.

"I love you, baby," he called after her.

"Mhm," was Mercedes' response, but she couldn't hold back her giggle as she heard Sam let out a breath and whisper to himself behind her, "Oh God, my life flashed. I saw the end," before following after her.

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><p><strong>AN: I hope you guys enjoyed. Please review! :)**


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